The Artful Dodger
by BatmanSwim2016
Summary: When Aerie is launched from a catapult over the Grand Line, the last thing she expected was to land on the deck of the Moby Dick. Instead of being treated like a prisoner, she is given the chance to join the greatest pirate family the world has ever known. Set 24 years before the current storyline. Rated T for violence and language. Eventual Marco x OC
1. Prologue: Hard to Find

**Hey there! So, I'm new here to the site. I'm still trying to figure some of the stuff out, like uploading stories and whatnot. So, without further ado, I present my first Fanfiction, The Artful Dodger!**

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Some would say the Artful Dodger is an enigma wrapped inside a conundrum buried deep in the center of a maze of puzzles. Others would say he (or she) is a complete lunatic for daring to create art on the side of buildings specifically mocking the World Government. However, if one were to ask a simple Marine private, he would simply say the Artful Dodger is hard to find. Why else take a name such as the Artful Dodger?

Said Marine private is most likely on the street of a lesser-known island on the Grand Line hunting for the elusive artist. Said private has likely been there for hours, ever since the rather rude painting depicting Fleet Admiral Sengoku had been found a couple streets over from his location. The painting was rude in the aspect that it showed the Admiral's signature goat eating his jacket while he blathered on about catching pirates. This private is likely tired, hungry, and cold from spending too much time outside searching for a graffiti artist. Which is exactly why, at that moment, he did not notice the cloaked figure crouching on the rooftop above him, watching him with narrowed golden eyes from behind a mask as he marched up and down the street.

The Artful Dodger smirked under the mask. This could prove to be interesting. _Let's shake things up a bit_, was the thought that was shortly followed by the jumping off of the roof onto the private below.

The private let out a surprised yelp as the Artful Dodger landed on him. He was knocked to the ground as the artist used him as a personal landing pad. The yelp attracted the attention of the soldier walking up the street cater-corner to his. The soldier rounded the corner and readied his weapon. He froze when he saw the black-clad figure sitting on top of his buddy. The figure seemed to be blowing into something around his neck.

"Freeze!" the soldier cried at the Artful Dodger. "My name is Private Kawahata! You are under arrest for attacking a soldier of the Marines!" The figure stopped blowing into what now appeared to be a whistle of some sort, though it didn't make a sound. "Now stand slowly and keep your hands where I can see them!"

The Artful Dodger smirked again, but obliged; rising slowly, keeping hands where they can be seen.

Private Kawahata gasped upon recognizing the mask the figure wore. It was a simple, black mask that resembled a bird, much like the ones doctors used to wear to treat victims of the Black Plague. Only one man wore that mask, at that man was the Artful Dodger. Kawahata also noticed a long strand of hair fell from the hat on the Dodger's head. _A woman?!_ he thought.

"Artful Dodger, you are now under arrest!" He announced to the artist. This merited a chuckle and the amused response of:

"Oh, am I?"

_Strange_, thought Kawahata, _the voice is almost too deep for a woman_. _She could disguise it I suppose. _He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice the flapping of wings, or why the Dodger held his-her-hands so high in the air. As if she were reaching for something...

The next thing Private Kawahata knew was a dark shadow swooping down close to the street and grabbing the Dodger's wrists in its talons. As she flew over him, the Artful Dodger kicked the private in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

When the private looked up into the night sky, all he saw was a shadow over the moon, then nothing. The Artful Dodger was gone, escaped from the clutches of justice once again.

And it was all because he couldn't catch one criminal.

_I'm so fired. _

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**So, did you like it? Review, favorite, follow, or whatever. Did anyone catch the Easter eggs I put in there? Hehe, until next time! Oh, just so you know, I'll try to update as soon as I can, with summer homework, work, and swim team and all that jazz, but the first chapter shouldn't be no later than Tuesday. **


	2. Chapter 1: Touch the Sky

**Wow, aren't you guys lucky! A new chapter in under 24 hours?! What is this madness? :O Ehh... I need a life. So, enjoy the chapter! This might clarify some things from the prologue**.

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Chapter 1: Touch the Sky

Aerie thought her day was going rather splendidly before she was placed into a catapult and launched across the Grand Line. Of course, at that point, who wouldn't be having a bad day?

It was a Tuesday. Aerie didn't like Tuesdays very much. You were still tired from the exhaustion of Monday, and you still had another three days before the glorious Friday. Still, most people preferred Tuesdays over Mondays, though Aerie liked Wednesdays much better.

On this particular Tuesday, Aerie woke up feeling just as tired as she was when she fell asleep the night before. She spent most of her time island hopping with her friend Apollo, thus she rarely got a full night's rest. As she began pulling on her clothes, she checked the log pose to see if it had locked on to the next island's magnetic field yet. It hadn't, so that meant she would have to stay at least another day on this island. She strapped the navigation tool to her wrist, and walked out of the rented room in the inn she was staying at.

Underneath the available rooms was a quaint tavern where Aerie ate breakfast. She wondered how long she would have to stay here. It's not that she didn't like the island, or the inn, but she would rather move on as quickly as possible. She had gotten into trouble the night before with some pirates, which she would not like a repeat of in the foreseeable future.

Aerie was pulled from her musings when the door at the inn was opened with a crash and a man ran in waving a newspaper above his head. He headed straight for the bar, not seeming to notice the odd looks he was receiving from the other customers. He slouched against the wooden bar, out of breath, gasping something incoherently.

"Slow down, lad!" The innkeeper said to the panicking man. "Get yer breath back and then talk"

Slowly, the man calmed down enough to stop gasping. When he had enough breath back, he cried, "The Artful Dodger has been spotted! The Marines found another painting last night, and he was not far from the scene!"

Now he had the attention of everyone in the bar. News of the Dodger was rare, especially news that he had been spotted.

"And that's not all!" The man continued. "His bounty has risen and there is now a report suggesting he might be a woman!"

"EHHHHHHHH?!" All of the patrons in the bar got to their feet and rushed to the counter to look at the newspaper. Sure enough, the headline featured a long article about the exploits of the Artful Dodger (mostly about how he was "an obstruction of justice") and included a picture of the elusive artist, along with his latest masterpiece. At the end of the article was a testimony of the private who came into contact with the Dodger the night before and how he suspected the artist to be a woman. Beside the paper was the wanted poster, showing the Dodger looking over his-or her-shoulder at the camera while walking away. The bounty on it listed the Dodger as being worth two hundred seventy-five million beli.

"That's fifty million more than last time he got a bounty," one of the customers said to no one in particular.

Aerie stood on a stool to look at the paper over the other patrons' shoulders. _Word certainly travels fast,_ she thought. She needed to get off this island as soon as possible. While the customers began talking amongst themselves about the Dodger, she slipped out of the front door, or at least, she tried to. As she pulled the door from one side, another person was pushing it from the other. Aerie fell backwards onto her butt and looked up at the person who opened the door, and immediately wished she had left sooner.

The man who caused Aerie to fall was a mean looking fellow. Not to mention he was rather large; his stomach protruded from the rest of his body under his white shirt and sagged over the waistline of his maroon pants. He wore a black coat and shoes which looked as if he just bought them. His dark red beard was neatly trimmed, though Aerie thought she saw a bit of food in it. His small, piggish eyes were full of fire and hatred, and it was all directed at the woman in his way. Another man, this one much smaller, appeared behind him and gasped upon seeing Aerie.

The second, man pointed a shaking finger at her body on the ground and said in an unsteady voice, "T-t-that's her C-c-captain! T-the one who at-t-tacked Rentaro!"

The big man (Aerie decided to call him Captain Pig) narrowed his eyes even further at the woman still sitting on the floor. "Is that so?" he asked, leaning down to look Aerie in the eyes. "So you're the one who removed Rentaro's family jewels in the middle of an alley."

Aerie put a hand on her chin and tried to think. She knew she had heard that name before somewhere...

~...~

_The night before..._

"Alright, Apollo, set me down here." Aerie called up to the bird carrying her. He set her down gently on the rooftop of a building and landed quietly beside her. She removed her mask and hat and stowed them in a pouch on the side of Apollo's saddle. As she was taking off her cloak, she heard a female's scream pierce the night. It sounded like she was calling for someone to help her.

Aerie moved to the edge of the building and looked into the alley below. There, she saw a woman being pinned to a wall by a rough, muscular-looking man. It was clear to Aerie, or anyone else, what the man's intentions were regarding the young woman. Aerie cursed; the Marines were too far away to help, and probably hadn't even heard the woman's scream. So, she did what any sane person would do: she jumped off the building onto the street below.

The man didn't even hear her land, even though she wasn't being stealthy. She walked up behind him and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir," she said with mock politeness, "but I believe the lady said no."

When the man turned his head, he came face-to-face with Aerie's angry expression as she sent a punch to the side of his head that could've easily broken through a wall. His body hit the ground with a crash and he didn't move.

Aerie looked at the young woman and adopted a gentler expression. "Are you hurt?" she asked quietly. The woman shook her head no. "Good. You might want to run. I guarantee that you don't want to see this."

The woman gathered her courage and spoke a quiet thank you to Aerie as she dashed out of the alley. The man at Aerie's feet groaned as he woke up. Her face twisted into a scowl as she kicked him in the ribs. "Get up," she commanded harshly.

The man got up. A large bruise was forming on the side of his head from where Aerie had struck him. She kicked him again, this time in the knee, causing him to double over.

"You know," she said conversationally, though her eyes remained sharp and dangerous. "I really hate pigs like you who think they can have any woman they damn well please. It makes me sick." She crouched down to look him in the eyes. "What's your name, pig?"

The man spat blood from his mouth onto the ground, almost hitting Aerie's boot. "Rentaro," he growled as a response to her question.

The hit to his solar plexus came without warning. All of the air was forced from his lungs and he collapsed to the dirty ground once again.

"Well, Rentaro," Aerie continued, still using the same lighthearted tone, "seeing as I don't like men like you, I'm going to have to punish you in some way. I'm going to have to make sure you think twice before you get the urge to try to force yourself on a woman ever again." Aerie's eyes scanned over his body, wondering what she should do to the man. She was then reminded of a story she had read some time ago in the newspaper about what a woman in the South Blue did to her husband once she found out he was having an affair. Her mouth formed a sadistic grin and her golden eyes gleamed maliciously as she observed the man still gasping for breath on the ground.

Rentaro tried rising to his feet once he got most of his breath back, but he was stopped by Aerie placing a foot on his chest to keep him on the ground. Once he looked up and saw her scary expression,he knew things would turn out badly for him, not matter what she decided to do.

Aerie leaned down once more over the man and her grin widened. "I know just what to do with you. Tell me, Rentaro, have you ever heard the story of Lorena Bobbit?"

_~...~_

_Present..._

Aerie snapped her fingers upon remembering. "Oh, you mean the jerk trying to rape that poor girl last night in the alley. _That_ Rentaro! I knew I had heard that name somewhere!" She glared up at Captain Pig. "Yep, that was definitely me. And if you're looking for an apology, you've come to the wrong place."

Captain Pig flared his nostrils in anger and his eyes blazed with fury. He stooped down and lifted Aerie up by her neck. "That was the most dirty, underhanded trick I've ever heard of. You owe me more than an apology, wench."

Aerie coughed; it was getting hard to breathe. Eventually she gasped out, "Well, _Captain_, I'm sorry your crew is too weak to protect themselves from a woman like me."

This was the final straw. In one movement, the Captain hurled Aerie through the wall of the tavern, even though the door was still open. Scowling, he followed her out of the new hole in the wall.

Aerie could feel the blood running down her face from the gash in her temple. Coughing, she sat up in the dirt. Surrounding her were what she assumed was the rest of Captain Pig's crew. They cheered when they saw their captain strut his way out of the tavern to where Aerie sat on the street. She scowled and pushed herself up off the ground and onto her feet. Her head spun as she tried to gain back her balance. _Damn pig threw me harder than I thought. _

The captain swung at her again, and this time the hit connected with her jaw and sent her flying backwards. Aerie pushed herself back up onto her elbows and spat up blood. _Can't let him get the advantage._

However, it was obvious it was the pig who had the upper hand in the battle. He kicked Aerie in the ribs, knocking her to the ground once again. The pirates went wild.

"Go Captain Bull!" one of them shouted. Through the ringing in her ears, Aerie managed to hear him. _Yeah_, she thought drily, _go Captain Bull for picking on a defenseless woman. If only I hadn't left my weapons in my room. _

Captain Bull swelled with the cheers of his crew. He watched the woman try to get to her feet, but stumble back to her knees. Those hits to the head did more damage to her than he expected them to. He smirked and kicked her again in the side. This time, he was sure he felt her ribs give in a little. Aerie cried out in pain, but didn't scream.

The captain picked her up by her hair. "Don't you know who we are?" He sneered at her. "We're the Red Bull Pirates, and I'm Captain Bull!"

Even though she was in pain, and blackness was threatening to cover her vision, Aerie's smart mouth replied before she could stop it. "Sorry, never heard of you." Captain Bull slammed her head into the ground and the darkness overcame her.

~...~

_"Where are we going, Daddy?"_

_The girl's father turned his head around to look at her, but did not stop walking. She trailed a bit behind him, trying to match his long strides. Her face was set in a grumpy pout, making her look like she had swallowed a Devil Fruit._

_He chuckled. "You'll see soon enough." He turned back to the direction he was originally facing and kept walking. He heard his daughter give a small groan, but she continued to follow him. They walked through the forest until they came to a large fortress on hone other side of the island. The fortress was falling apart and looked to be abandoned. The six-year-old scrunched up her nose and looked up at her father again._

_"Why'd you bring me here?" She asked distastefully. The old place looked boring!_

_Her father crouched down until he was at eye level with her. "Listen to me, Aerie. This place is very important. You see, this used to be where the Marines would jail pirates and criminals until they were executed. _

_"Really?" The fortress didn't seem to be boring anymore to the girl who gazed at it with wide eyes._

_"Really. In fact, we used this base up until about ten years ago, which is when we built the new one closer to town. This was the base I trained in when I was a ensign."_

_"Can we go inside it, please?" She stared at him with her pretty gold eyes._

_He laughed and ruffled her dark brown hair. "Not today, sweetheart. I'll bring you back when you're older, and I'll show you around, okay? But right now it's too dangerous for one as little as yourself, okay?"_

_Aerie frowned and looked at the fortress again. It looked like she could have a lot of adventures here, but Daddy said she couldn't go. An idea popped into her head. She turned back to her father, grinned, and nodded her head. "Okay, Daddy, we can come back later!"_

_He smiled and stood up. He started to walk away, and Aerie trotted to catch up. She took his larger hand in her own, and happily walked by his side. Sure she agreed to come back later, but she never told him she planned on "later" being much sooner than he thought. _

_~...~_

When Aerie came to, she couldn't move. All of her limbs were tied together at her wrists and ankles. She found it fitting that the pig of a captain would choose to hog-tie her to keep her from moving. She looked around and realized she was on the deck of a ship out at sea, though the island was still within view.

"Wake up yet?" _Ugh, that voice is annoying._ "Good, because I've got something planned for you, and I want you awake and attentive to experience it."

Aerie turned her head and found the pig whose voice was causing her headache to worsen. Having her head thrown through a wall and slammed into the ground was definitely not beneficial. She glared at him, though she knew she couldn't cause him any damage at the moment, being tied up and all. She doubted she could stand with this headache anyway. Well, there was one thing she could do...

"Would you mind shutting up? I've got a bad enough headache as it is without having to listen to your God-awful voice." Aerie snapped at Captain Bull. His nostrils flared and he leaned down to pick her up by her hair again. He dragged her to the center of the deck where a large catapult sat. _Geez, medieval much?_ Aerie's eyes widened as she realized what the captain had in store for her. _He isn't thinking that is he?_

Apparently, he was thinking along the same lines as Aerie was, because he smiled wickedly down at her. He lifted her up and into the catapult's bowl-shaped bucket. The rest of the crew had gathered around the device as the captain made an eloquent speech about how he had defeated her and was taking revenge for Rentaro. _Snore..._

"If you're going to kill me, then hurry up and get it over with, you pig," Aerie snapped, rudely interrupting the captain's speech. He spun around to glare at her then smirked.

"Have it your way then," he said, and with that, he released the holding mechanism on the catapult's arm, launching Aerie into the blue sky.

Aerie refused to scream as she flew. Riding Apollo all the time had gotten her used to flying at breakneck speeds through the sky. However, the experience was slightly different without the bird there.

Coming up quickly was a large ship with a strange figurehead. _Is that a whale?_ The deck was approaching faster than Aerie would have liked, and the shouts of the crew on board were becoming more discernible. With a large crash, Aerie slammed into the wooden deck, creating a large crater in the process. Her eyes closed and she knew no more.

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**Soooo, did you like it? Favorite! Follow! Review! Eat some ice cream, and have a lovely evening! Oh, and if any of you want to make some fan art to use as a cover photo, send it to me! I suck at drawing, so I found this picture of Whitebeard's flag online. Lame, right? Any artists out there? :D**

***Edited as of 8.21.2014***


	3. Chapter 2: Awake and Alive

**New chapter! Hooray! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Frenchyyy, my first reviewer (don't worry, your English is perfect!), and my 4 followers!**

**Also, I forgot to put this on the previous chapters, but I don't own One Piece. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this story. Not to mention my drawing skills would be a lot better. **

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Chapter 2: Awake and Alive

_"Daddy!" _

_Marine Captain Tanaka Kobe looked up from his newspaper to see his seven-year-old daughter running to him with tears in her big, golden, eyes. Shortly behind her trotted (or at least attempted to) a little golden eagle, tiny talons clicking on the tiled floor as it struggled to keep up with his friend. Tanaka turned his attention back to the girl as she stood before him, trying her best not to cry in front of her father. _

_Tanaka bent over and picked up his daughter and placed her on his lap. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asked her gently. "Are you hurt?" He then looked at her, looking to see if she had fallen and cut herself again._

_His daughter began to sob as tears started to flow freely from her eyes. "They're m-making fun of m-me a-a-again." She stuttered out. She fell forward into his shoulder so he wouldn't see her cry. _

_Tanaka frowned. "Why on earth would they do that, honey?"_

_"M-m-my eyes a-are a d-d-different color than t-t-theirs." came the muffled response. _

_The marine captain sighed. It seemed almost everyday his daughter would come home crying about the other kids in the town making fun of her eyes. Truthfully, even he didn't know where they got their unusual golden color. He felt something rubbing against his leg, and when he looked down, he saw the little bird of prey pushing his head into his leg and chirping in sympathy of his friend. _

_Tanaka pushed his daughter off of his shoulder and faced her so he could look her in the eyes. "Aerie," he began sternly, "are you a smart girl?" She nodded, confused. "Are you kind?" Again, a nod. "Then, I don't care if your eyes are blue, green, black, or red. As long as you remain who you are, a smart, kind, little girl, you will always be perfect to me. Do you understand, Little Eagle?"_

_Aerie nodded her head again. Her tears had stopped and now a strong determination filled her golden eyes. Tanaka was surprised to see such a strong will in such a little girl, but he supposed it came with her childhood of taunts and teases. _

_Aerie hopped down from her father's lap. "Come on, Apollo," she said to the bird, "let's go show them we don't care what they say!" She looked back at her father. "I'm gonna be strong like you, Daddy! Just you wait and see!"_

_Apollo squawked in agreement, spreading his wings out to show his resolve. Aerie giggled, and together they ran out of the house, back outside into the village._

_~...~_

Aerie felt like a ton of bricks was resting on her head at the moment. She didn't open her eyes, but instead groaned and rolled her head to the side. Everything on her body hurt, like she had been thrown down a cliff and left to die in the ravine. _Of course_, she reasoned to herself, _being launched from a catapult into the deck of a ship isn't much different._ Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Catapult. Deck. Ship.

Aerie shot up, and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through her abdomen, causing her to fall back on the bed. _Wait a second, bed?! Where am I?!_ She tried to remember the events leading up to that point. Oh, that's right, she was sent flying from a catapult into the deck of another ship, causing her to black out, and all of this happened after she had been beaten into a pulp. _That still doesn't tell me where I am, and, more importantly, whose ship I'm on._

She looked around. From what she could see, she appeared to be in an infirmary of the ship. Cabinets lined the wall, securely locked so that their contents would not fall out. Along another wall was a counter with a sink, on which sat bandages and antiseptic. Upon examining herself, Aerie discovered the bandages were used on her. She could only see the ones on her arms at the moment, but she suspected her entire body was covered in them. An I.V. was attached to her left arm in the crook of her elbow, but the bag on the stand looked empty. There were several other beds in the infirmary, though none of them were filled at the moment. Across the room, on the wall with the counter and the sink, there was a calendar and a clock. It was nine o'clock in the morning, so Aerie knew she had been asleep for more than twelve hours.

A door opened on the other side of the room. Aerie turned her head, causing a few sparks of pain to shoot through her spine. A petite, red-headed woman wearing a pink nurse's uniform stepped through the door. When she saw Aerie, she smiled. She walked over to the side of Aerie's bed, replaced the empty I.V. bag, and picked up the clipboard on the bedside table.

"Good to see you're awake and among the living," the woman said with a thick Irish accent. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions to fill out this medical form. Alright," she grabbed a pen and looked up at Aerie, "what's yer name, lass?"

"Aerie," she answered.

The nurse wrote this down. "Spelled like the word, right?" Aerie nodded. "What about yer family name?"

Aerie looked away. "I don't have a family," she said.

Silence. Then, "Ah, I see. I'm sorry."

Aerie shook her head. "Not your fault," she replied.

"What's yer age?"

"Twenty."

The nurse looked up and smiled. "Me too," she said.

They continued on with the questions for another hour. At first, they were strictly medical, such as previous injuries (that took a while) and allergies to various items, but then the questions moved on to other topics like where Aerie came from, what islands she's been to, and how she ended up on the ship in the first place.

"I was launched from a catapult by some no-name pirates," she explained with a shrug.

The nurse, whose name Aerie found out was Eliza, snorted with disgust. "Damn brutes. I don't care what ya did, no one deserves being launched from a catapult, especially on a sea like the Grand Line." She looked at the clock. "Crap, is that the time? Sorry, lass, I've got to go. Pops needs me on deck." She smiled gently. "It was nice talkin' to ya." She got up to leave.

As she was walking out the door, Aerie remembered the question she had wanted to ask as soon as she woke up. "Wait, Eliza," she said. The nurse turned around. "Where are we?"

Eliza smiled and her bright green eyes gleamed with pride. "Why lass, we're on the _Moby Dick_, the main ship of Whitebeard's fleet. Now, I've got to go back on deck, but I'll be back to check on ya again in about an hour." With that, she left the infirmary.

Aerie nodded and processed this information. _Whitebeard_. Aerie had heard of him. The reports she had read in the newspapers compared his strength to that of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. He was one of the Yonko, four pirate emperors from their respective seas. If she remembered correctly, he was the emperor of the South Blue.

The door opened again. Aerie thought it was Eliza, and was about to ask if she had forgotten something, but when she turned to the door, she saw a man there. He wore clothes that were completely white with a yellow foulard, a black belt, and black shoes. His reddish-brown hair was styled into a pompadour, but his goatee was black. When he leaned farther into the room, Aerie noticed a stitched scar beside his left eye. The man looked around the room, and when he determined Aerie was the only one in the vicinity, he quickly stepped into the room and closed the door.

He grinned at Aerie. "Good, the witch isn't in here," he said. "I'm Thatch, by the way."

Aerie assumed that the "witch" was Eliza, but she figured it would be better to not comment on his choice of words. "I'm Aerie," she said.

Thatch nodded and grinned. "Hey, I'm going to hide in here. Is that okay with you?" Aerie nodded. "Cool. Oh, and if a nurse or a man wearing a kimono comes in here, please don't tell them I'm here." Aerie nodded again. Thatch crouched down to the floor and somehow managed to fit his muscular body under one of the empty beds in the infirmary. And not a second too soon, because as soon as he was under the bed, the door burst open, and an angry-_man?_-stomped into the room.

This man was clad in a dark red kimono. His black hair was pulled back, like a geisha, and his black eyes were narrowed. However, when he saw Aerie lying on her bed, they softened. He walked over to her bed and bowed politely.

"Excuse me," he said pleasantly, "but has a tall, auburn-haired man been in here recently?"

Aerie shook her head. "I'm sorry, he hasn't."

The man pursed his lips, as if he didn't believe her lie. "I see. I'm Izo." He stuck out his hand to shake.

Aerie crossed her arm over her body to shake his hand. "Aerie," she said. Izo's grip was strong and firm.

Izo nodded. "Nice to meet you," he said. He looked around the room again. "Well, seeing as he isn't here, I need to be going. Lord knows where that brute has gotten off to."

Aerie tilted her head. "Why are you looking for him, anyway?"

"He decided to 'borrow' my entire stock of lipstick and use it to create art around the ship," Izo sniffed.

Aerie blinked. "Ah, I see. Good luck in your search then."

"Thank you. Now I must go." With that, Izo left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Thatch crawled out form his hiding place and grinned at Aerie. "Thanks, I owe you one," he said.

The door burst open again, causing Thatch to jump into the air. Izo stomped in with an "Aha!" and grabbed Thatch by the cheek. He turned to Aerie with a sigh, who shrugged.

"Sorry I lied, but I told him I wouldn't say if you were in here," she told Izo.

Izo sighed. "It's fine, dear. This brute," he jerked Thatch's face down, "is sly and manipulative. I understand completely."

"OI!" A shout from the doorway made the three people in the room turn their heads. "What the hell are you two idiots doin' in my infirmary?!"

Thatch gave a mock scream. "Ah! Help, it's the witch!"

Izo bowed while releasing his grip on Thatch's face. "I'm horribly sorry, Elizabeth. I was just collecting this moron for punishment."

Eliza pinched the bridge of her nose. "Whatever, Izo, you can go." Izo left the room calmly. "As for you," she grabbed Thatch's shoulder as he tried to escape, "get outta my infirmary before I make sure you have to stay here!" With that, she punched him in the back of the head, causing him to face plant into the floor.

"Keep abusing me like that and I'll have to stay, Eliza," Thatch muttered as he got back to his feet. Eliza raised her fist again and Thatch put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'm going!"

Once Eliza got the two men out of the infirmary, she turned back to Aerie, who was calmly observing the crew's argument. She smiled. "Sorry about that. I'll make sure they don't bother you again. In the mean time, I'll let you rest. Your body probably can't take much more stress. Someone will bring you food in a couple of hours." She stood up to leave. "We'll be back at the island where you were before in a couple of days. I imagine you still have your there."

Aerie nodded. "I also have a friend waiting for me back on that island. I'll need to find him, if you guys wouldn't mind helping."

Eliza shook her head. "Not a problem, lass. You should be able to get out of bed by then. We'll send someone with you to help look for him." She turned toward the door. Then, she added as an afterthought, "Oh, and you'll have to meet Pops before then as well. Don't worry," she said when she saw Aerie's eyes widen in surprise, "he'll like you. Now, I'm going to leave. Get some rest." She opened the door and shut it quietly behind her.

Once the Irish woman had gone, Aerie was left to think. _I can't believe I have to meet Whitebeard. Hopefully Eliza is right and he'll end up liking me_. Aerie yawned, suddenly realizing how tired she was. She fell asleep almost immediately after that.

* * *

**What do you think? Please review, favorite, and follow! **

**P.S. I think it's amazing that 108 people have read this story! Thanks soo much! Until next time!**

**~Bats**

**UPDATE: After going back and rereading this, I realized I forgot to give Tanaka a first name. Don't worry, I have a plan ;)**

***Edited as of 8.21.2014***


	4. Chapter 3: The Start of Something New

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited on the last chapter! Here's another one for you!**

**Ace Portgas D: Here you go!**

**Guest: Aw thank you!**

**Frenchyyy: This one's for you!**

* * *

Chapter 3: The Start of Something New

On an island not far from the Whitebeard Pirates' location, a Marine vice admiral sat in a dark room. The only light was coming from what little sunlight was let in from behind the drawn curtains. He sat in a tall-backed chair behind a large oak desk. The room was silent, then he spoke into the receiver of the den-den mushi in his hand.

"You're sure she's dead?" He asked the person on the other end of the line.

_"Yes, she is, Vice Admiral," _confirmed the voice through the snail. _"The pirates roughed her up and sent her flying, it seems."_

"And what about the Artful Dodger?"

_"No clue. Gave the boys over here the slip."_

Silence. Then, "I see. That will be all, Captain."

_"Yes sir."_ There was a click and the snail fell asleep, indicating the line had been disconnected.

The vice admiral sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his dark hair. _It can't be. She wouldn't lie down and die that easily._ Sighing, be picked up the den-den mushi and dialed a number. The one on the other line picked up on the second ring.

_"Yes, vice admiral?"_

"Send a group to Dōmei Island. There are some pirates there that need to be taken care of."

~...~

The next couple of days passed slowly for Aerie. Most of the time she spent lying on her bed in the infirmary staring at the ceiling or sleeping. She had managed to convince Eliza that the other pirates wouldn't bother her if they came in to talk to her, so she had company occasionally. A couple times she was allowed to draw on some paper the Irish woman brought her.

"That's really realistic!" Thatch exclaimed when Aerie showed him one of her drawings. "Where did you learn how to draw like that?"

Aerie shrugged. "I've always loved art," she replied. "Lately, I've been doing some photography too."

The second day she was on the _Moby Dick_, Eliza helped her sit upright. The day after that, she was able to get up and walk around the infirmary, with assistance. Thatch and Izo were present at that time. Thatch snickered when he saw Aerie struggling to walk.

"First day with your new feet?" He asked jokingly. This comment earned him a glare from Aerie and Eliza, and a punch to the head from Izo.

"Come talk to me when you've been thrown through a wall, beaten, then launched out of a catapult," answered Aerie.

Soon enough, she was able to walk on her own again. Not long after that, Izo, Thatch, and Eliza led her to meet Whitebeard, or as they called him, Pops.

Whitebeard was a mammoth of a man. He sat in an equally enormous chair on deck. He chuckled with amusement when he saw Aerie's shocked face.

"Gurarara! Looks like she's speechless!" He laughed. He smiled at her. "Sit down, kid. I've heard a lot about you from these three, but I'd like to hear the story coming from your own mouth."

Aerie obeyed his command (how could she say no to a man like that?), and told Whitebeard who she was and how she ended up on the _Moby Dick._

Whitebeard was silent for a moment after she was finished. He mulled over her story, then he spoke. "So, those pirates attacked you for attacking one of their own?"

"Yes sir."

He laughed. "I think what you did to the bastard was fitting. I like a kid who causes trouble with people, especially the ones causing pain to others. You didn't know that poor girl, but you helped her." He laughed again. "I definitely think he'll think twice before trying to do that to another girl."

"I don't think he'll be able to do that to anyone, willing or otherwise, ever again," Thatch muttered. Eliza hummed in agreement.

Whitebeard leaned down to look into Aerie's golden eyes. His own yellow eyes were filled with something she couldn't identify. It almost looked like...respect.

"You've got a good character, kid. I like your spunk," he said finally, sitting up.

Aerie smiled. "Thank you, sir. And thank you for your hospitality, even though I put a dent in your ship."

"Gurarara! Not a problem! A friend of my children is a friend of mine. In fact," he grinned, "how would you like join our family?"

Aerie was stunned. Of all the things she expected Whitebeard to say, she certainly didn't expect this. _To have...a family again?_ She thought. _I__ don't remember what that feels like. _For so long, it had just been her and Apollo, but in a few short days, she had become used to the company of other humans. She looked at the other three pirates in the room, all looking at her expectantly. Aerie thought about how much she enjoyed meeting them and being with them. Thatch and his antics never failed to make her smile, even though they drove Izo and Eliza up the wall. Eliza was like the sister she never had. Izo was around to help her with changing bandages and keeping up with her appearance when Eliza wasn't around. All three of them had become special to Aerie, and she wouldn't trade their friendship for anything.

She looked back at Whitebeard, who was patiently waiting for an answer. Then, she grinned. She had made her decision, but she felt the decision had been made back when she first met them.

"I would like that very much, thank you."

Thatch let out a whoop of excitement and punched the air. Izo smiled and chuckled. Eliza walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders while grinning. Whitebeard laughed.

"Then it's settled!" He boomed. "Let's have a party to celebrate!"

Aerie opened her mouth to agree, but she was cut off by Eliza. "Absolutely not!" She said. "Aerie's still on extreme pain medication! Alcohol could kill her, especially if it's you determining the serving size, Pops."

Whitebeard considered this. "All right," he conceded, "we'll party later. For now, let's introduce you to the rest of the crew."

The crew was ecstatic to gain a new "sister", but their enthusiasm waned slightly when Eliza told them they wouldn't be partying until after Aerie was off her medication.

"We will party, though, right?" One of the crew members (Aerie thought his name was Eric) asked.

Thatch laughed and replied before Eliza could. "Of course we'll party! We're the Whitebeards! And if there's anything we're good at," he said to Aerie, "it's partying." For some reason, Aerie didn't doubt him.

~...~

The next morning, the island was on the horizon. Thatch predicted they would make port by noon, and he was right. On the way into port, they passed by a wooden structure that appeared to have been built hastily. Hanging from it were the bodies of the Red Bull Pirates, with Captain Bull himself hanging in the center. The bodies seemed to have been shot several times, so it ruled out suffocation as a cause of death. Aerie felt squeamish looking at the pirates, but she also felt satisfied that someone had done them in.

Eliza noticed her looking at them. "Is that them? The group who attacked you?" Aerie nodded, and the redhead was silent.

Thatch, however, was not. "Well, looks like we won't have to worry about running in to them later."

"We should still be careful, yoi. We don't know if the person who killed them did us a favor or is sending us a warning." The three heads turned towards the newcomer's voice. It was Marco, the First Division commander. Aerie had spoken with him briefly in the past when he was looking for Thatch and he came into the infirmary to search for him. He seemed friendly enough for Aerie to trust him, not to mention he was really close friends with the pompadoured man.

Thatch waved his suggestion off with a hand. "Yeah, sure Marco. After all, being careful and not causing a scene is our specialty, right?"

Marco sighed and rolled his eyes. He walked away, presumably to give orders to the crew to prepare for docking.

Once the ship had docked, the crew split up to restock supplies. Once that was finished, they would be free to mull about the town to do whatever they pleased.

Thatch was sent with Aerie to collect her belongings and to find Apollo. Eliza had to go with the other nurses to get medical supplies, so she wouldn't be able to go.

"You'll be fine though," the redhead assured Aerie. "Just don't go over-exerting yourself. And if you get into trouble, Thatch should be able to protect you. Right?" This question was directed at the man, who was currently cleaning out his ear with his pinky. The glint in Eliza's eyes told him exactly what would happen if he failed to protect her friend and cause her more injuries.

Thatch swallowed and removed his finger from his ear. "I think we'll be peachy," he said with a nervous smile.

In the background, Whitebeard's laughter boomed across the ship.

The pirates parted ways, and soon it was just Thatch and Aerie in the middle of the dirt street. He motioned with his arm. "Shall we?" He asked with a grin. Aerie nodded, and they set off in the direction of the inn.

Along the way, the pair received strange looks from the citizens of the town, but Aerie credited that to Thatch being an infamous pirate, so she thought nothing of it. She led them into the inside of the tavern beneath the inn, where they were met with silence.

Finally, the innkeeper spoke after a moment of awkward silence. "Ah, lass, yer back."

Aerie nodded and walked towards the counter. "Did you keep my belongings?" She asked.

"They're in me office. Didn't expect ya ta come back after those pirates beat ya seven ways ta Sunday."

Aerie scowled. "Thanks for the reminder."

"Ah, right. Sorry."

Thatch cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, what happened to them? We saw their bodies."

"Marines." Was all he said. Thatch and Aerie exchanged a glance. Things could get ugly if said Marines were still there on the island. Without another word, they walked to the innkeeper's office.

Inside the office, sure enough, were Aerie's few belongings. Her clothes were folded and put into her bag neatly, and her weapons were still in their bag as well. She grinned at the sight of familiar clothes and wanted to change out of the clothes she was in, but decided she probably shouldn't undress herself in front of Thatch. He picked up both bags without a word, but he smirked at her indignant expression. She was too proud to ask for help, so he knew he would have to be the one to act first.

"No over-exerting yourself, remember?" He said while patting her head with a free hand. She huffed a "whatever" and they left the office.

Aerie felt better now that she had her stuff back, and she imagined the person whose clothes she was currently wearing would be happy too. _Now we just need to find Apollo and we can go back to the ship, _she thought. _I'll ask the innkeeper if he's still in the stables where I left him._

She never got the chance to ask about her bird. As soon as the two pirates entered back into the tavern, they were surrounded by men in all-too-familiar white uniforms.

A man, whom Aerie assumed was the commanding officer, stepped forward and gave her a triumphant grin. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Tanaka Aerie."

_This does not look good._

* * *

**Whitebeard=YAY!**

**Joined the crew=YAY!**

**Marines and a cliffhanger=BOO!**

**To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I do like it a little better than the last one, which I feel was sloppy and poorly written. Anywho, please be sure to favorite, follow, and review!**

**~Bats**

**P.S. I think I might start updating less frequently so I have time to focus on other things, like homework, church, and work. I haven't decided yet.**

**UPDATE: Damn website keeps screwing up my story. I fixed the typos and added back those little separators (~...~) in my story. Please let me know if anything is out of place!**

***Edited as of 8.21.2014***


	5. Chapter 4: Fire and Fury

**Woo! Another chapter finished! I'm honestly surprised I finished this one today. I'm so tired from swim practice and I'm having trouble staying awake. Anywho, here we go!**

**Frenchyyy: Aw thanks so much!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Fire and Fury

_"Welcome back to the land of the living, Tanaka Aerie."_

_This does not look good. _

The words were met with silence from both sides. As usual, Thatch was the one to break it.

"Tanaka? Hey, isn't that the name of a vice admiral?" He asked the silent room.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP,_ Aerie thought. _Who the heck is this guy? And how does he know my full name?_ She looked at him closely. The jerk was still giving her that dumb grin, not to mention he totally ignored Thatch's question. Now that she thought about it, he did seem a little familiar.

The officer laughed good-naturedly. "What, surprised to see me?"

"I would be if I knew who the heck you are," Aerie deadpanned. The officer's jaw dropped, and some of his subordinates snickered.

He sighed, a small vein appearing on his forehead. "I'm a bit offended by that, Aerie."

She shrugged. "Life sucks for some people." Thatch disguised a laugh as a cough._  
_

The officer's eye twitched before he regained his composure. "Honestly, you don't-"

"Hey, buddy," Thatch interrupted, "not to be mean, but she obviously doesn't know who you are, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't care either. So cut to the chase and skip to the part where you monologue about how you managed to find us." The officer straightened his posture a little and took a dramatic breath.

"Actually, Thatch," Aerie spoke up before the officer could, "it's pretty simple. They were probably here to get rid of the Red Bull Pirates, and when they saw Whitebeard's ship come into port, they decided to follow us. Not only that, but they are likely to have people on guard in the city looking for pirates, such as our friend the innkeeper." She cast a pointed look at the man, who was calmly walking out the front door. "It's kind of obvious. Marco was right, we should have been a little more careful about walking around in public."

"Oh, I see. That still doesn't explain why he's after you as well, though."

Aerie sighed. "It's a long story."

The Marine must have gotten fed up with their conversation, because he stomped his foot and yelled, "Oi, would you two pay attention? You are both in custody!"

"That's nice," said Aerie. "Unfortunately, I don't plan on being taken prisoner today, so you might as well leave now."

"WILL YOU TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY?!" By now, he was getting tired of their lack of concern. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then continued. "You know, your father was upset to hear that you had died. He didn't believe it, but he sent us here to dispose of those pirates anyway. We just got lucky that we found you as well." That stupid grin was back now. "So we'll just take you home and arrest your friend," he gestured to Thatch. "He will likely be tried and executed. You will also be punished, but probably not as severely."

Aerie shook her head. "In that case, not a chance we're going with you."

Thatch laughed. "Haha, that's the spirit Aerie! You're starting to sound like a pirate now!" He said while clapping her back. She winced from the pain of his hand hitting her still-sensitive injuries. "Oh, right, sorry."

Now the marine officer looked confused. "Wait, a pirate? There's no way _she_ would be a pirate!"

"There is. She joined our crew yesterday," Thatch said.

The officer actually looked appalled. "WHAAAAT?! Aerie, what are you thinking? Now you'll be hunted down as well!"

"I don't see how that concerns you," Aerie replied, slightly confused by his bipolar behavior. "I still don't know who you are and I don't know why you would care. Your opinion doesn't matter to me. And besides, weren't you just gloating about arresting me?"

Now he collapsed on the floor. "She doesn't remember..." He moaned with a depressed aura around him.

"I thought we established this five minutes ago," said Thatch.

"I thought she was joking. After all, how you could you forget your best friend?"

Aerie narrowed her eyes at the man on the floor. _Best friend? _Then it hit her.

"Carlyle?" She asked in disbelief. He jumped to his feet and cheered. "That's right, I remember you now. We went to school together and you used to wander around the forest and get into trouble with me and Apollo. Speaking of which," she turned to Thatch, who was watching with a confused expression, "I need to go get Apollo."

"Right," Thatch said while setting down her bags and cracking his knuckles. "Just give me a couple seconds and I'll take care of these guys."

"Sounds good to me," Aerie said as she reached into her weapons bag to remove a large gun resembling a flintlock rifle. "Mind if I help?"

"Long as you don't get hurt," he said with a shrug.

She smiled and loaded the gun. The commanding officer, Carlyle, was becoming irritated again. "Don't you two take anything seriously?"

Aerie glared at him. "Just because you're a person of authority now, Carlyle, doesn't mean I'll listen to you any more than I did when we were younger."

"You're still not listening!" Carlyle growled with the vein reappearing on his forehead. "I already told you; you are under arrest! You are not leaving this island unless it is on a Marine vessel!"

"Good luck trying to enforce that, bro," and with that, Thatch threw the first punch, hitting a Marine in the jaw who getting too close to the pair. Aerie proceeded to open fire on the remaining men, causing them to dive and scatter over tables and chairs. She continued fire, destroying most of the furniture in the room. She only aimed to injure, not to kill.

Thatch punched and kicked his way through his opponents. "This would have been easier if I didn't leave my sword on the ship," he grunted.

Soon enough, the only man remaining was Carlyle. If they though he was mad before, they were sorely mistaken. He was thoroughly pissed now. He pointed a finger at Aerie, who was standing calmly in front of the doorway to the office.

"I can't believe you would just waltz in here and defeat my men. Especially since we were such good friends." He shook his head. "What would your father say?"

Aerie ejected the empty shell from her gun. She didn't bother reloading it, just slung it across her back. She looked Carlyle in the eyes. "I think Pops would say he likes my spunk," she said. Thatch laughed again.

"You'll pay for this."

"Sorry, man," said Thatch, coming up behind him, "it's not personal. It's just the way the world is." He looked around at the passed out and injured Marines. "I think it's time for you to either fight us or get out of our way."

Carlyle sighed, but gave a small smile. "As you wish."

Suddenly, Carlyle began to grow. His skin became thick and scaly; his fingernails turned into sharp claws; his legs and arms became thick and muscly, and his jaw elongated, forming a snout. Lastly, a tail sprouted from his spine, completing his monstrous form.

Thatch and Aerie gaped. "What the-?" Gasped Thatch. Carlyle laughed at their shock and hit Thatch with his left arm, sending the pompadoured man crashing into a wall.

"Thatch!" Aerie called. He groaned in reply and gave her a shaky thumbs up from the floor. She swung her gun around to the front of her body and quickly reloaded it. As soon as that was done, she began firing at Carlyle. He chuckled when her bullets didnt leave a mark. _What in the name of Heaven is he?_

"Fools!" Carlyle yelled triumphantly. "I ate the Hachūrui-Hachūrui no Mi*, Model: Crocodile! With it, I become a man-crocodile! My skin is thicker than armor, my teeth sharper than blades! No man can defeat me!"

Thatch sat up. "I'm beginning to see why you stopped being friends with him, Aerie."

For once, Carlyle didn't reply to Thatch. His two eyes were focused on Aerie, who was now realizing just how deep of trouble they were in. She couldn't match him physically, and bullets weren't affecting him. He started walking toward her, and her mind frantically tried to come up with a plan. She looked over at the counter. _The alcohol!_ she thought. _If I can get him covered in it, all I'll need is a spark to light him up!_ She dodged a swipe aimed at her by Carlyle and dove behind the counter of the bar. She managed to crawl over to one of the beer kegs. She tried picking it up, but it was too heavy, so she began to roll it back and forth on the floor.

Carlyle shook his head again. "What are you doing Aerie? I hardly think this is the time for a drink."

_I need to excite the molecules enough so it's pressure will explode once I knock off the tap._ Having stopped rolling the barrel, she placed it in a position so it aimed right at Carlyle. He narrowed his eyes.

"What are you-?" He was cut off by the spray of beer directly in his face. When the spray stopped, he was hit in the face with a bottle of alcohol. Bottle after bottle was thrown at him until he shouted, "ENOUGH!" and threw a table at Aerie. She instantly protected her face with her arms and by turning her shoulder, causing the wounds on her back and arms to reopen.

Aerie cried out in pain and curled up on the floor. Carlyle slowly advanced toward her, but was stopped by Thatch jumping at him. He was swatted aside as if he were no more than a fly. He walked up to Aerie and grinned, which looked more dangerous on his crocodile face.

"Sorry about this," he said as he raised his fist over Aerie's small form.

Suddenly, she whipped out the matchbox she had been concealing. "No harm, no foul," she replied while striking a match and throwing it at the man-crocodile.

The effect was instantaneous. The alcohol all over Carlyle burst into flame, turning him into a living torch. He screamed, though whether it was in pain or in surprise, Aerie wasn't sure. She quickly crossed the room to where Thatch was staring in shock.

"Can you move?" She asked him. He nodded. "Let's go! We need to get outside!"

The pair grabbed Aerie's bags and ran out the door onto the street. After getting accustomed to the bright sunlight, Aerie started to lead them to the stables next door, where she hoped Apollo was. She was stopped by a large crash coming from the tavern behind them, caused by none other than the man-crocodile coming through the same wall Aerie was thrown through four days previous. His face morphed into a fierce, animalistic expression and he growled.

Thatch stood in front of Aerie. "Go find your friend," he ordered. "I can hold him off for now!"

Aerie was about to protest, but then she remembered he had promised Eliza he would protect her, so she knew arguing would be a lost cause and a waste of time. She nodded and sprinted toward the stables. She heard the sound of Thatch and Carlyle's fight, but she didn't turn around.

Once inside the stables, she frantically searched for her bird. She checked all of the stalls, but they were empty. Then, in the last stall on the right, she found him.

He was sleeping, but he woke up when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. He jumped to his feet when he saw his friend, overjoyed at her for coming back for him.

Aerie unlocked the door, ran in, and hugged Apollo tightly around his neck. He cooed at her and wrapped his head around her shoulders and brought his wings closer to her.

"I'm glad to see you too, buddy," she said into his feathery neck. She pulled away and looked him into his eyes. He happily chirped and playfully bonked her on the head, as if to say, _Thanks for leaving me alone for so long, jerk._ She laughed and stroked his feathers.

She moved around him so that she could grab his saddle. She attached it to his back as fast as she could, making sure that the rest of her things were still in their pouches. _Paint, brushes, sketch pad, camera, cloak, mask, hat; looks like it's all here._ She was about to lead Apollo out the main door when she heard Thatch shout in pain from outside. Knowing she had run out of time, she hopped onto Apollo's back and directed him upward. He made a vertical takeoff, crashed through the roof, and took to the skies.

~...~

Thatch knew he couldn't hold the crocodile man off for long, so he hoped Aerie would hurry and get her friend. He charged, not wanting his opponent to gain the upper hand, and managed to punch the man in the snout. Carlyle held his face in pain.

He was in bad shape. Aerie's fire trick burned off a lot of his clothes and his hair. However, the biggest thing it accomplished was turning Carlyle from pissed to livid. He put his hands down from his face and snarled at Thatch.

"Damn pirate," he spat.

"Damn Marine," Thatch shot back. Carlyle roared in fury and ran at him. He sent Thatch flying with a single punch. He flew for a few meters, then fell back to the street. He let out a shout in pain when his back hit the ground. He rolled onto his elbows, then pushed himself to his feet. He struggled to get his breath back while standing.

A cry from the sky got both men's attention. _That sounds like an eagle,_ Thatch thought as he shielded his eyes to look at the thing that burst out of the roof of the stables. His eyes widened as he beheld the sight of a rather large bird in the sky. It flew upwards for a moment, then dropped into a dive, aimed directly at the Marine officer. Carlyle seemed to realize it too late as the eagle dive-bombed him in the chest.

The crocodile-man fell to the ground from the force of the attack. Thatch's jaw dropped comically while he looked at the scene before him. There was Aerie, on the back of a giant eagle that was sitting on a crocodile man as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He wasn't sitting there for long; Carlyle angrily forced the bird off of him and got back onto his feet. He chuckled as the bird squawked and flapped his wings until he was able to stand again.

"You've certainly grown, Apollo," he said. Apollo fluffed his feathers at the sound of his name.

_THAT'S Apollo?!_ Thatch thought. When Aerie said he was in the stables, Thatch expected him to be a horse or a dog. Certainly not a _freaking giant golden eagle._

Aerie jumped off of the bird. "Let's finish this," she said. She ran at Carlyle and jumped into the air. She aimed a flying kick at his face, but he moved out of the way just before she made contact. This didn't deter her; she landed and kept running, going toward the area where she and Thatch left her bags. She slid the last few meters on her knees and opened her weapons bag. This time, she pulled a rocket launcher out of it. _How the hell does she fit those in there?!_ Thatch didn't have time to wonder as she shifted her position so that she was on one knee and leveled the gun at Carlyle.

"Sleep well" was said in a mocking tone as she fired. The rocket surged forward and hit Carlyle directly in the chest. _Not even he should get back up for a while after that._ Thatch turned out to be right; the Marine fell face-first into the ground and didn't move. Thatch went over and checked his breathing, just to be safe. Sure enough, the man was still alive, but breathing deeply and evenly, meaning he was knocked out. Thatch sighed in relief. He could feel his consciousness beginning to fade, and he slumped over, hands on his knees. He heard Aerie calling his name, but he was so tired. Sleeping sounded really good right now. He was vaguely aware of her putting his arm around her shoulders and leading him to the large eagle. Everything faded to black after that.

~...~

Aerie led Thatch to Apollo, who bowed down so she could lift the man onto his back, then climb on herself.

"Up, Apollo," she said, and they were in the air once again. She had him fly in the direction of the port, where the others were undoubtedly waiting impatiently for their return.

Aerie looked at Thatch's slumped over form in front of her. He seemed to be more injured than she was, thus leading him to pass out. _Carlyle must have hurt him bad for him to black out like that,_ she thought guiltily. He sustained all of those injuries because he was keeping his promise to protect her, when she didn't deserve to be protected. Carlyle's words rang through her mind.

_"Your father was upset when he heard you had died," _he had said._ "He didn't believe it, but he sent us here to dispose of those pirates anyway."_ Just how much did her father know about her current actions? She feared what he would do when he received the report of her joining the Whitebeard Pirates. He might even go after the pirate emperor himself!

Aerie shook her head. Whitebeard could likely handle anything thrown at him, even if it was something as powerful as her father. She looked at Thatch again. _He's strong too. The whole crew is strong. They'll be fine. _She decided then to tell the entire crew the truth about her family, instead of omitting it like she usually did.

Suddenly, she felt extremely sleepy. _Good thing the ship's right there. Maybe I'll sleep first, then explain why Thatch and I are covered in injuries._ That sounded good.

~...~

Eliza was pacing back and forth on the deck, worried out of her mind for her friends, when she heard shouting from the crow's nest. Looking up, she saw-_an eagle?_-in the sky, preparing to land on the ship. The crew made room for it to land, after all, no one wanted to mess with a bird as big as that trying to find a spot to rest. Once it landed, she noticed the two figures on its back.

She stomped her way over to the bird, where Aerie was getting Thatch off its back and gently setting him on the deck.

"Where the hell have ya been?" Eliza demanded. "You were supposed to be back an hour ago!" She noticed the injuries and her eyes widened. "What happened to you and Thatch?!"

Aerie looked like she was about to fall over, so Eliza caught her before she hit the deck.

"Tell you in a minute," she murmured before she finally accepted sleep's embrace.

* * *

***Hachūrui-Hachūrui no Mi=reptile-reptile fruit**

**Super long one! This first part is kind of meh, but the fight scene is okay to me. Sorry it ended like that, I didn't want it to drag on into another chapter. I'm going to be super busy the rest of the week, so you guys might not get an update until Friday night. So, you know the drill: favorite, follow, and review, please!**

**Oh, and I changed the cover picture. Do you like it?**

**Laters!**

**~Batsy**

***Edited as of 8.21.2014***


	6. Chapter 5: Monster

Chapter 5: Monster

Aerie woke up the next morning in the infirmary. This time, however, she had company. Thatch was sitting in the bed across from her, neatly bandaged and taken care of. He grinned when he noticed she was awake.

"Morning," he said cheerfully. Aerie repeated the phrase back to him as she sat up and ran a hand through her hair. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the door opened and he was cut off. Eliza stomped into the room and hit Aerie on the head.

"Moron," she grumbled, "gettin' yerself hurt like that. What were ya thinkin'?" She was about to reply when Eliza turned toward Thatch, who shrank back into the wall. "And you! You were supposed to make sure she didn't get hurt again! Not to mention you were supposed to take care of yerself too!" She hit Thatch on the head.

"Ah! Get away from me, witch!" He said while attempting to swat her fist away. "It wasn't really my fault when she insisted on fighting!"

"One, don't call me a witch. Two, yes, it is yer fault because you made a promise."

"But, Eliza," he protested, "you should've seen the size of this guy! Not to mention his skin was 'tougher than armor'. The man turned into a bloody crocodile!"

He was rewarded with another hit to the head. "I don't care."

_Isn't hitting his head going to cause more problems than it solves?_ Aerie thought to herself with a sweat drop. The door opened again, and Izo and Marco walked in. They too sewatdropped when they saw Eliza punching Thatch.

"Eliza, I think he's had enough between the crocodile and you," Marco sighed.

She pointed a finger at him and he unconsciously backed up a few steps. "Don't tell me what to do in my infirmary, Marco."

The two continued to argue back and forth, with Izo eventually joining in, and after a while Aerie tuned them out. She kept staring at her lap with her bangs shadowing her golden eyes.

Thatch was the first to notice her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

There was genuine concern in his voice, and when Aerie looked up, she saw the others had stopped arguing abruptly when they heard him. Everyone in the room stared at her, and she could see they were worried for her.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair again. They deserved to know. "No, I'm not okay. That creep Carlyle knew who I was before I even recognized him, and he almost kicked our asses back there."

Marco snorted. "Almost?"

Eliza tilted her head and sat down on one of the other beds, sensing a story. "How did he know you?"

Aerie sighed again. "He and I grew up together. He knows my father."

"I thought-"

"What I said was true. I don't have a family, at least, not with him."

Izo and Marco sat down as well. After a pause, Marco said, "I think we need to hear the whole story, yoi."

"Alright..."

~...~

_A sixteen-year old Aerie sat on a cliff overlooking the sea surrounding the island of Jaaku. Over and over in her head she saw the same thing: a young boy's head falling from his shoulders as his body slumped to the ground. She felt sick inside. Her father told her his execution was done in the name of justice, but she didn't see it that way at all._

_She heard someone walk up behind her. "There you are, Aerie! I've been looking everywhere for you!" The chipper voice got closer, even though she didn't turn around. "Your dad thought you would be up here, but he seemed to be mad about something. Anyway, how'd the execution go?"_

_Aerie looked over her shoulder and glared at Carlyle. He was smiling at her, undeterred by her glare. His bright blue eyes were staring into her golden ones expectantly, patiently waiting for an answer. She scoffed and returned to glaring out at the sea. _

_"Aerie? What's wrong?" Carlyle asked as he sat down beside her, somehow missing the murderous aura coming off his friend. _

_She snorted. "What isn't wrong, Carlyle? I just watched my father murder a kid."_

_Carlyle looked confused. "I thought you went to an execution."_

_"Sure, if you want to call the pointless killing of a pirate's son that."_

_"What? I thought it was a criminal captured in the name of justice."_

_Aerie turned to him. "What exactly is justice, Carlyle? To me, it's catching people who commit crimes, not killing their children. To me, that's not justice; that's murder."_

_Carlyle was taken aback by his friend's sudden change of heart. For as long as he had known her, she talked about growing up to be a Marine, just like her father. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked uncertainly._

_She sighed and turned back to the sea. "No, I just want to be left alone right now."_

_As much as he wanted to stay with her, Carlyle knew she didn't want him around. He got to his feet. "Okay, well, later, I guess," he said as he walked away. _

_"...goodbye," she whispered quietly when he had left. She too rose to her feet, still watching the sea. She pulled out a silver whistle and blew into it. Soon, Apollo joined her on the cliff side. He had grown large in the past few years; large enough for Aerie to build a saddle and ride him._

_She had already packed her bags. The were strapped to the underside of the saddle, which was fastened around the eagle's neck. She climbed onto his back and urged him to take off._

_Once they were in the air, Aerie pulled out a sheet of paper, on which she had drawn the dead boy's head. Underneath the head she had written "justice". Frowning, she traced the drawing with one finger. She wanted to let the world know about the atrocity that happened on Jaaku but she hadn't found a way yet, instead drawing this picture. She had thought about sending it to the newspaper, but she dismissed the idea when she realized they would never print it. As she traced the design again, an idea formed in her head. If she were to go through with it, she would be marked as a criminal forever. Not that she minded. If what her father did was lawful, she would rather be an outlaw anyway._

_Something else occurred to her: she didn't have to let anyone know it was her, did she? She could wear a disguise and make up a name to herself. She would have to be extremely careful not to leave any hints either. A name came to mind almost immediately: the Artful Dodger. It was clever, mysterious, and fitting, seeing as she would be hiding from the government. _

_Mind now made up as to what she wanted to do, she pulled out a compass and a map and put away the drawing. She would start tonight; no use delaying her rebellion any longer. Smiling to herself, Aerie directed Apollo to fly directly north. They would reach the next island by nightfall, which would be perfect. Aerie only wished she could see the look on her father's face when he saw it in the newspaper. _

~...~

"...and the rest, as they say, is history." Aerie finished her story and looked at the floor, afraid to meet the gazes of her friends.

"The Artful Dodger, huh," mused Izo.

"That's quite the story, yoi," said Marco.

"I still don't understand why you didn't tell us, though," Thatch added.

Aerie lowered her head even more in shame. "Because, I thought if you knew who I was, who I used to be, you would never accept me. I was a _monster_!" She spat the last part out.

To her surprise, Eliza just scoffed. Aerie looked up at her to see her giving her worst glare. She felt for sure Eliza would hate her. That is until Eliza spoke.

"You think _you're_ a monster?"

Aerie was shocked. She certainly didn't expect this. "By not telling you, you all would have been hunted down by my father for associating with me and you wouldn't know why!"

Eliza laughed. "So? Wouldn't have been the first time a Marine has tried to take the head of a Whitebeard." She smirked at Aerie. "Sweetie, you think you have some serious skeletons in your closet? I used to be an assassin before I joined the crew. I could kill a man a hundred different ways with me bare hands, and I did so on a regular basis. _I'm_ a monster."

She pointed at Izo. "He used to be a drug smuggler. As a result of his smuggling, a whole island became addicted to a narcotic substance. Nearly killed all of them indirectly, he did. _He's_ a monster.

"Marco was once a thief. He would steal valuable artifacts from important people and sell them on the black market. All the money he earned went to a factory that mass-produced chemical weapons used to eradicate entire islands. _He's_ a monster.

"Thatch, hell, he was a man who blew up islands that flew the World Government flag. He would do it to get rid of the supporters of the government, but he actually killed innocent people. _He's_ a monster."

She turned back to Aerie. "You think you're bad? Ask anyone on this crew, they'll tell you a story that's just as bad or worse. My point is, darling, we're all monsters here."

Aerie stared at her and the others in the room. The men looked back at her and nodded, confirming Eliza's speech. She was astounded by what she had been told. Suddenly. She was overwhelmed with a sense of happiness and gratitude that she had found a place where she could finally belong.

Tears began to fall from her eyes. "You guys," she sputtered, "thank you."

They all smiled back at her and she made the most important discovery of her life.

She had a family again.

And they loved her.

* * *

**Guys, I have an important announcement. My youth group at church has decided we are going to undergo a forty-day period of fasting. We could choose to give up whatever we want, so I decided to give up my iPad. This means, for the next forty days, I will not be publishing a chapter since I use my iPad for typing them up. I need to use this time to draw closer to God, and I realized most of my time is spent on here. **

**Please don't make any hateful comments about my decision. This is something I have to do in my spiritual walk. If you want to send me a private message about the story, please do. I am welcome to ideas. I will continue to write this story, I just won't be posting chapters for forty days. You'll still be here, right?**

**Thank you all so much. Until next time!**

**~BatmanSwim2016**

***Edited as of 8.21.2014***


	7. Chapter 6: Home

**What's this? Could it be? Why, yes, I believe it's...THE RETURN OF BATMANSWIM2016! I'm back, and better than ever, guys! Thanks for your patience and your support!**

**Frenchyyy: Awe thanks :) I'm blushing :}**

**wjgr: Thanks for understanding! You have no idea how much your comment lifted my spirits. :) Honestly, walking away from something I spend so much time on for forty days was really hard. I really appreciate it. :)**

**Nurofen: Why thank you, dearie. :)**

**iiILurvePancakesii: Yeah, he is. I had to give a legitamate reason for Aerie leaving home. Plus, it gives a reason for you guys to not like him. ;)**

**tuskkins: You bet I will, baby. :)**

* * *

Chapter 6: Home

Vice Admiral Tanaka Kobe was not pleased, to say the least. He sat in his office, facing Captain Carlyle, who had a depressed cloud hanging above him as he gave his report on what happened on Dōmei Island. As he finished his report, his voice became quieter and quieter until it was silent in the room. Tanaka sighed and leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his thick, chocolate-brown hair. He looked back up at his subordinate. Carlyle's injuries from Aerie's fire trick hadn't caused as much damage as was first assumed; in fact, he was mostly unharmed, except for missing a couple of patches of hair, which he easily covered with a white Marine cap.

Finally, Tanaka broke the silence. "So, she got away."

Carlyle stood ramrod straight, but still had a depressed aura. "I'm afraid so, sir. It seems we-sorry, I-thoroughly underestimated her. Not to mention she showed up with the Whitebeard Pirates of all people."

That certainly had been a surprise, right after discovering his one and only daughter was, in fact, alive. It was predictable for an unprepared Carlyle to be defeated by a Divison Commander, though.

Tanaka sighed and looked down at his desk. It was decorated with only a plant, a den-den mushi, and a framed picture. It was this picture he now turned his attention to. In it was a grinning Aerie as a child, with one arm hooked around Apollo's neck and the other hooked around her father's. He sighed. He had still been holding on to the foolish wish that his daughter would come home and realize her place in the ranks of the Marines and not gallivanting across the sea painting pictures to mock the government.

Yes, he knew she was the Artful Dodger, ever since the first painting of that blasted boy's head. Speaking of the Dodger, her most recent wanted poster also occupied some of Tanaka's desk space, along with pictures of Aerie's and Carlyle's fight. There was a rather dramatic picture of Aerie flying on Apollo, looking down on to the street.

He picked up the poster. "Any sign of the Artful Dodger?" He asked.

Carlyle's mood worsened, the storm cloud above his head growing though he remained standing and not on his hands and knees. "No, sir, it seems he got away as well."

Tanaka glanced up at his subordinate. He wasn't all that surprised Carlyle hadn't figured out the Dodger's identity yet; the boy hadn't been all too bright growing up, and not much had changed. "Very well," he said after a moment. "You're dismissed, Captain." Carlyle turned to leave after giving a sharp salute. "Oh, and Captain," Tanaka added, "I want the Dodger caught. Aerie too."

Carlyle's mood did a one-eighty, changing from depressed to determined. "Yes, sir," he said, then he left the office. Tanaka waited until he was gone, then picked up the receiver for his den-den mushi.

The person on the other side picked up on the first ring. _"Yes, Vice Admiral?"_ The smooth voice asked.

"Have a bounty issued for 'Golden Eagle' Tanaka Aerie at seventy-five million beli."

_"Of course, Vice Admiral."_

~...~

Once her past was out in the open with her friends, now it came to be the time for Aerie to tell Whitebeard. After all, he was her captain, not to mention her fatherly figure. However, his reaction was definitely not what most would define as "normal". He stuck his finger up his nose and gave Aerie the casual response of, "Eh, so what?"

But, to be honest, she should have expected that.

Now that was out of the way, another issue quickly surfaced: where would Aerie stay on the ship? It was clear she couldn't stay in the infirmary forever, now that her injuries were on the fast track to being healed. When she brought it up with her friends, Thatch suggested she share a room with him. Izo promptly told him where he could shove _that_ idea. Eliza then shyly told Aerie she could bunk with her.

"Are you sure?" Aerie asked. "I'd hate to impose, Eliza."

"You kiddin'? I've wanted a roommate for a while now! And I'd rather it be you than any of the other nurses!" Was Eliza's response. So, that decided that.

Eliza's room was a small cabin located near the infirmary. On each side facing each other were two beds. Each bed was raised off of the floor high enough to allow a small set of drawers. There was also a large chest at the foot of each bed. On the far side of the room was a bedside table with a lamp on top of it located under a window, providing a perfect view of the ocean.

The bed on the left side walking in was neatly made with white sheets and a dark blue duvet. The wall next to it was decorated with pictures of the crew and assorted bounty posters of infamous pirates, most of them belonging to the Whitebeards'. Some of the other posters had even been signed by the pirates shown.

Aerie turned around to see Eliza shifting from foot to foot and looking at the floor, very unusual for the normally bold Irish woman. "D'you like it?" She asked nervously. "I mean, it's not a lot, but it serves it's purpose."

Aerie embraced her. "I love it, Eliza," she said, smiling widely. "Thank you!" She pulled away to see Eliza grinning back at her.

"Well, come on, then. We best be gettin' yer things if yer to live here."

The girls went back to the infirmary to grab Aerie's belongings, then walked back into what was now their room. Aerie unpacked her clothes into the drawers below her bed and and put her art supplies and firearms in the chest while Eliza went to find sheets and a duvet. As she was about to put away her camera and photo album, Eliza came back into the room peeked over her shoulder, letting out a delighted cry.

"You do photography?" She questioned excitedly. Aerie nodded. "That's so cool!" Eliza squealed. "May I look at yer pictures, please?"

For the better part of an hour, the girls looked at all of the pictures Aerie had taken. Some were of the scenery on islands she had visited, while others were taken with different people. Aerie told Eliza the story behind each photo, the smaller woman hanging on every world.

She shook her head and smiled. "Ya sure have been to a lot of places and met a lot of people," she said once they were done.

Both were startled by the clearing of someone's throat at the door. That someone turned out to be Marco, who was casually leaning against the doorframe with a lazy smirk on his face. "Having fun?" He asked.

Eliza glared at his unannounced entrance. "Ach, laddie, would it kill ya to knock?" She grumbled.

Marco ignored her comment and the way she addressed him as if she were older. "I need to borrow Aerie for the rest of the afternoon," he drawled.

Aerie shrugged at Eliza's questioning glance. "Why?" She asked looking at the First Division Commander.

"You've been placed in my division. We're going to spend the rest of the afternoon training you in how to fight."

"I can fight!" She huffed indignantly.

Marco rolled his eyes. "_Right_, because you haven't nearly died twice in the time we've known you."

"Then why are you the one training me, _commander_?"

Marco's smirk widened. "Let's just say I've taken you under my wing."

Aerie snorted through her nose at his bad pun, but nonetheless followed her new commander out of the room and out on deck.

~...~

Aerie collapsed on the mat of the training room hours later. The two had started earlier in the afternoon with Marco observing Aerie striking a dummy to she what she could do. The girl was right; she did not how to fight, and pretty well, too. That didn't stop Marco from stepping in and making a comment from time to time or adjusting her stance. It seemed years of training with her father had paid off; her punches were quick and hard, and her kicks could be deadly if she practiced enough.

Soon, they moved on to using a wooden sword. Aerie couldn't even remember the last time she used a sword, so that was an area she needed improvement in. She whacked the dummy with the stick until Marco decided she was done, which was after quite some time had passed and after Aerie's hands had formed blisters.

Finally, the lazy-looking commander had the brilliant idea to spar with Aerie himself. They launched kicks and punches at each other, with Marco making more comments on her form. Eventually, both of them were sweaty, tired, and covered in strike marks. That was where Marco decided they should stop.

"That's all for today!" He said cheerily while grinning down at Aerie's body on the mat. "We'll work more tomorrow, starting early. What?" He asked when Aerie threw him a glare.

Groaning, she pushed herself to her feet and walked out of the training room, Marco following close behind her. He caught up and matched her pace easily with his long legs.

"So," he said casually, "how're you liking life here?"

Aerie smiled. "I'm loving it. It's really nice to have somewhere instead of shaving to hop from place to place every time a log pose resets."

Marco chuckled. "I know what you mean. I used to do the same thing." A comfortable silence fell over them. He broke it by saying, "He really tries, you know, to make this place a safe haven for anyone. Pops, I mean. If anyone needs a family or a home, they can always find one here."

"You-I guess we, now-do have quite the interesting family."

Marco laughed. "You said it! Just wait until you meet the whole crew, for real this time! Some of us have got the strangest powers and skills. Come on," he urged, "let's go to the dining hall. Dinner should be ready by now."

At the prospect of food, Aerie's mood brightened. She eagerly followed Marco to the dining hall in the center of the ship.

~...~

Mealtimes on the _Moby Dick_ could be described in one word: chaos. All around the massive room, loud conversations accompanied by laughter took place as some crew members talked, joked, and messed around with one another. And in the middle of it all sat Whitebeard in an enormous chair, laughing his strange laugh along with his family. Aerie took this all in while standing in the doorway next to Marco. He tugged on her arm and led her to a counter where they could pick up some food from the galley.

The food served that night was curry, and it smelled amazing to Aerie, who hadn't eaten for almost twelve hours. Once getting their food, the pair made their way to a table where Thatch, Eliza, and Izo all sat, along with a few other members on the crew. Thatch was telling a story to his brothers and sisters that made them all laugh. Eliza looked over at Aerie and Marco and motioned them over. She gestured to a seat she had reserved for Aerie next to her on her right, while Marco took the one next to Thatch.

"What's so funny?" Aerie asked the group as she began to eat.

Thatch puffed himself up in his chair. "I was just recounting the story of how Izo and I bravely faced down a hundred thousand Marines while simultaneously saving a lovely princess from a dragon."

Aerie shook her head at the ridiculousness of his statement and smiled. "I'm sure that's what really happened, Thatch."

He drooped a little while Marco and some of the others snickered. "It is though! You see-"

Izo cut him off. "What really happened was we were fighting off a large group of Marines when we saw what looked like a lady being attacked by a dragon. Thatch insisted we help 'her', so we finished up with the Marines and ran in that direction. Turns out, she was a dude, and he was trying to fight off the dragon from killing him." Thatch glared at him for stealing his moment of glory.

"Sounds better when I tell it," the pompadoured man grumbled, sliding down in his seat.

Aerie leaned forward and grinned. "Well, I have quite the story to tell you," she said. She began to tell them about how she flew over the sea and was nearly knocked off of Apollo by the kraken. As she was doing so, they laughed, gasped, and even made jokes about her story. She found herself laughing along with her new family late into the night, long after a majority of the crew had gone for bed.

When Aerie finally turned in for the night, she fell asleep almost immediately, too exhausted from training and family bonding to keep her eyes open for one more minute.

* * *

**Guys, I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your patience and support for me as I completed my fast. There were some times it thought I was going to break down and play on my iPad or get on FanFiciton, but I never did, not once. I feel like my spirit has been lifted and like I am now closer to God than ever before. I love you guys!**

**~Bats**

**P.S. Please follow, favorite, and review! I love hearing what you guys have to say! I am also open for any suggestions for the plot if you have any ideas! PM me!**

**UPDATE: I've edited the other chapters, so if you noticed something different, that's why.**

***Edited as of 8.22.2014***


	8. Chapter 7: Wanted Dead or Alive

**iiILurvePancakesii: Haha, yeah, things could get complicated :)**

**Savage Kill: I don't know, CAN you ask about why a catapult? Haha, just teasing. I really have no reason for it, except for: Why NOT a catapult? It's something no one's done before, so I suppose that's why the idea appealed to me so much. Plus, I feel as though "being found on a piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean" has been done too often, and that was my original idea. As for Apollo, yes I did name him after the Greek god of the sun; can you tell why Aerie is named Aerie? I plan on him staying on the ship. I'm trying to make the chapters longer; the reason they're so short is because of a lack of time between swim team, work, and most importantly, church. I do have a ten-hour car trip tomorrow, so I'm thinking I'll either have one long chapter or a couple short ones. However, the next chapter will be up either tomorrow or Sunday. Thanks so much for the review! Did you know you're the first person to ask about the catapult, and what happened to our dear friend Apollo? I really appreciate your support!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Wanted Dead or Alive

A couple of weeks passed before Aerie even knew about her bounty poster. When she did hear about it, she was training again with Marco. The commander decided today that she practice standing on her hands for as long as she could. And if she fell, she had to start over time-wise. So, there she was, upside-down and red-faced when Eric rushed in to the room, along with two other crew members. He was holding a wanted poster featuring a picture of Aerie riding Apollo looking down at the street below. The crew was wearing big smiles, but Aerie doubted it was because of her bounty.

"Now we can have your party!" Eric proclaimed triumphantly, as if it was his bounty poster. Ah, there's the reason. The crew had yet to throw a party for Aerie's arrival, upon Eliza's insistence that they wait until her injuries had healed a bit more. The Red Bull Pirates had done quite the number on her, and fighting Carlyle hadn't made things any better.

Aerie pulled a face, still standing on her hands, and Marco snorted through his nose. "Don't count on it, yoi," he said.

"Who issued the bounty?" Aerie asked, more like gasped.

Eric shrugged. "Didn't say in the article. The only thing it said was that 'Golden Eagle' Aerie along with the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Thatch, wreaked havoc in a port town, injuring a Marine captain and destroying a legitimate business place in the process."

_I'd bet my last beli it was my father. No doubt Carlyle reports directly to him. How else would he know how upset my father was about my supposed death? _Aerie wondered to herself as she shifted on her hands. Her core and arm muscles were shaking horribly, and she felt as though she wouldn't be able to stand like this much longer. So, while the men were discussing the possibility of a party, she collapsed on the mat.

Marco looked down at her and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to leave you like that, yoi." Aerie groaned in response and glared at him. Wearily, she pushed herself to her feet to get a better look at the poster closer.

_Hey, seventy-five million isn't bad,_ she thought proudly. _So, adding that to the Dodger's bounty, I'm currently worth three hundred fifty million beli_. She grinned to herself. Then, she deflated a little and her smile disappeared. _Of course, nobody but Pops and the crew knows about that._

Marco and the others watched the different emotions flicker across Aerie's face as she thought. "Eh, what do you think she's thinkin' about?" Eric whispered.

Another member, Paul, shrugged. "Who knows, mate? She's a woman. You don't ever want to get in the head of a woman."

All four men were startled when Aerie suddenly spoke up. "All right, guys. You mentioned a party?"

~...~

When the five brought up the question of a party to Eliza, all of them were surprised when she actually agreed.

"Really?" Eric asked, suspecting a trap.

"I don't see why not," Eliza said with a shrug. "I mean, she's been off of the medication for a week now (not that it stopped Thatch), so as long as Pops is okay with it, I am. But," she turned to Aerie. "Do try not to overdo it, lass. I'd hate for ya to get sick so soon after gettin' out of the infirmary."

Naturally, Pops was thrilled with the idea of a party. The rest of the crew was as well. Any chance to drink and go crazy, they would take it.

Just like with meals, parties on the _Moby Dick_ were absolute chaos. Crew members danced around in crazy circles as musicians played classic pirate tunes. A crowd favorite was _Bink's Sake_, which had the entire crew singing along. Each pirate, save some of the more sensible ones, had a tankard filled with the drink of their choice. Pops have an entire urn filled with, from what Aerie could tell, sake. Some of the nurses and doctors were cautioning against him drinking that much, but the giant man waved them off.

"Stubborn old geezer," Eliza snorted, joining Aerie at her spot by the railing after getting dismissed by Whitebeard. "Give it a few years, and he's gonna be feelin' the effects of drinkin' so much." The redhead herself, along with Aerie, only had a small tankard, barely halfway filled. From this, she only sipped occasionally.

Aerie turned to watch the crew. "Looks like he won't be the only one," she said, motioning to the festive pirates with her cup. Eliza snorted again in agreement. Although some of the members had an inhuman tolerance for alcohol, the others did not and were already drunk, or at least tipsy. Aerie could hold her liquor pretty well, she just didn't like the taste and only drank on special occasions. She got headaches just from one because she was easily dehydrated, so she avoided it whenever possible. Plus, she did not like having hangovers.

After a couple minutes of companionable silence, Thatch strolled up to the pair, big grin on his face. "Aerie," he feigned a whine. "Why are you over here? This is your party, after all. So," he leaned over and grabbed her upper arm, "let's celebrate!" He brought her to her feet and raised her arm along with his other hand holding his drink. "To Aerie!" He shouted and the crew screamed it back to him. "Kanpai!" He threw his head back and finished off his drink. The crew repeated the saying and the action, and with that, the party resumed with more vigor. Aerie blushed a little, and jerked her hand out of Thatch's and sat down again.

"Aw, look Thatch, she's blushing!" Eliza chuckled, trying not to laugh at Aerie's face, which was growing more and more red. Thatch did not bother with holding himself back and laughed with all he had at his friend's embarrassment. Aerie could hear Whitebeard laughing in the background, but she wasn't sure if it was at her or at something else. She pushed her face into her hands in an attempt to stop the redness from further creeping into her cheeks.

Eventually, the party began to die down, and crew mates began either drifting off to cabins or simply falling asleep on the deck. Aerie began to nod off, but was shaken awake a few minutes later by a member named Matt. He looked really apologetic for disturbing her, and he said so when she opened her golden eyes to look at him. She waved it off, and told him she needed to go back to her and Eliza's cabin anyway.

"So," she yawned, "what was it you needed?"

"Ah," he said sheepishly, "well, you see, I'm on watch tonight and-"

Aerie cut him off. "I'm not taking your shift."

He shook his head and raised his hands. "No, no that's not it at all," he said quickly. "You see, it's just your bird."

"Apollo? What about him?"

"Well, he seems to have made the crow's nest his nest." Aerie looked up and sure enough, she could see the silhouette of Apollo against the stars, watching the sea and night sky. "I tried to get him out, and he nearly took my hand off!"

Aerie chuckled. "That does sound like something he'd do." She got up and walked over to a table covered with meat. "I'll get him down." She pulled out her whistle from under her shirt and blew into it. Apollo's head whipped around at the sound, and he soon glided down to land next to Aerie on the deck. She handed him the meat, and he responded with a happy chirp and gobbled it up. She coaxed him into laying down on the deck, where he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Matt looked immensely relieved to not have to deal with the scary bird, and he thanked Aerie before climbing up the ropes to sit in the crow's nest himself. Aerie sat back down and leaned against Apollo, falling asleep again as easily as the bird had done only moments before.

~...~

The next morning, a large commotion on deck woke Aerie along with several other members. She groggily opened her eyes to observe what was going on. Upon opening them, she was glad she only had one drink the previous night. Some of the other members looked awful, like they hadn't slept at all through the night. Nevertheless, they all gathered around Whitebeard's chair at the center the deck's center. There, a crew member Aerie had yet to meet sat in front of the giant himself, who looked solemn. The man looked grim as well.

"So," Whitebeard rumbled, "some punks think they can take my territory."

"I'm afraid so," the man confirmed. "They're not any small-timers either. These guys are a pretty serious force. The thing is, they're not even pirates. They're just a large gang working in the underground on the island. The governor is pretty concerned. They've gotten quite a few citizens on their side, too, tricked them into believing they don't need the governor or your protection." By now, Aerie had joined the semicircle around Whitebeard's chair. "They're terrorizing the citizens who don't agree too. The governor sent me to ask for your help. He wants to talk to you personally."

Whitebeard stared at the man and said nothing. After a moment, he raised his eyes to the horizon and glared, as if he could see the one earning his wrath. The crew stood silently, waiting for their captain's orders. Aerie was curious to see if his anger was as swift and unforgiving as it was rumored to be. He considered islands under his protection a part of his family, and no one messes with the Whitebeard family.

After a few more minutes of dead silence (except for Apollo waking up and walking over to Aerie and pushing his head under her hand), Whitebeard finally spoke. "Well," he said, "I guess we'll just have to do something about that, now won't we?" The crew didn't need to be told twice. Immediately, everyone began moving around the ship moving sails, adjusting the rigging, and preparing the ship to turn nearly one hundred eighty degrees to reach the island. The division commanders all came forward to sit by Whitebeard as they thought up a plan. Aerie helped with the preparations, and once that was done, she stood awkwardly off to the side of the ship. Soon, the commanders agreed on a plan and they dispersed across the deck. From what Aerie could overhear from some of the crew, the island was close by and they had an eternal pose.

Thatch and Marco came to join Aerie, Thatch wearing a big grin and Marco wearing his usual lazy smirk.

"Ready for this, Aerie?" Thatch asked. "Now you get to see some action!" He cracked his knuckles excitedly.

"Hopefully you two won't get your butts kicked like last time, yoi," Marco drawled.

"Shut up Marco! That was one time! And we won, didn't we?"

"If I remember right, Aerie was the one who won. All you did was get thrown around."

Thatch huffed, his mood ruined. "Whatever, Marco. Once this is done, I'm going to track down that crocodile guy and see how well you do against him."

"Just be sure he doesn't corner you first in some run-down tavern, yoi."

Aerie chuckled at this last one and Thatch feigned shock. "Don't tell me you're siding with him, Aerie!" Aerie shrugged with a smirk. "Oh, fine, I see how it is. Nearly get killed with a girl, and what does she do? She goes and sides with my rival!"

"Who said we were rivals? I don't even consider you a threat."

Thatch placed a hand over his heart and dramatically turned away. "Marco, you wound me."

"It's good for you, yoi."

"How is this good for me?"

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"...a lesser man would have killed you by now. Why do I keep you around?"

"I'm the first division commander, yoi."

"...ah. That makes much more sense than what I originally thought."

Marco quirked a brow and opened his mouth to retort, but Aerie beat him to it. "Thatch thinking? That's dangerous." Marco laughed at that last one and clapped Thatch on the back.

"Wow, a real mouthy one, isn't she, Thatch? I think we've ruined her. She used to be so reserved and polite. Now look at her." He smirked at Aerie. "She's daring to exchange banter with the rest of us pirates, yoi."

Aerie shrugged. "What can I say? Got to practice it sometime in case I ever need it in battle. Might as well do it here with you, pigeon."

Thatch laughed. "Got you there, bud. See, this is why I don't want a Devil Fruit. Too many opportunities to make fun of them."

Marco laughed good-naturedly with him. "Very true. Though, I would much rather be a Phoenix than a giraffe or a Pegasus." Both Thatch and Aerie could agree on this one. The three continued to make small talk, then Aerie asked what they were planning to do about the gang at the island they were stopping at.

"Go in, beat them up, then continue on our merry way," Thatch said simply, as if that solution would solve all of their problems.

~...~

It took them three days to reach the island, which was called "Steamworks". As soon as the ship docked, Apollo flew off to see if he could hunt for some food. From what Aerie could see on the deck of the ship, its main industry was machinery, hence the name. Big crates were carted on to equally large cargo ships by robots. Automatons, along with other types of robots, walked along the docks. Aerie couldn't see many live men, though. What's up with this island? She thought, but didn't ask, even though Marco was standing right beside her.

Down on the docks, there seemed to be some sort of commotion. Both robot and humans split into two separate lines, making a clear path for the item causing the disturbance. Through the path came a carriage being drawn by two mechanical horses. The carriage stopped at the dock the Moby Dick was occupying, and the driver, a man, quickly got down and opened the door, standing respectfully to the side. Out of the carriage stepped a man and a young woman. The man looked up at the ship, using a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He waved up at Marco with one hand, upon the arm rested a cane. Marco waved back and signaled for the other men to lower a gangplank to the dock. He moved away to give more orders, and Thatch joined Aerie by the railing.

He whistled appreciatively upon seeing the island. "Now, that's impressive," he said.

"You mean you haven't been here before?" Aerie asked, turning to look at him.

"Nope," he responded with a shake of his head. "The last time the crew would've been here is before I joined."

Aerie pondered this as the man and young woman walked up the gangplank to the deck of the ship. Both were dressed expensively in silk clothing. The man wore a black suit with a white shirt, white gloves, gold cufflinks, black top hat, and a black bow tie. His hair was grey, along with his curled mustache. Over his right eye sat a monocle. Aerie thought he looked rather ridiculous.

The young woman was dressed similarly. She wore a purple silk dress with gold accents. Her dark blonde was perfectly fashioned into curls that gracefully tumbled down her back. Her nails were neatly manicured and the makeup on her face just right. One thing was for sure, both of these people reeked of wealth.

"Who're they, do you think?" Aerie quietly whispered to Thatch. For the moment, the couple had their backs turned to the pirates at the railing. Thatch shrugged.

"That's the governor of this island, Sir Charles DuBois and his daughter, Lady Isabella," Izo whispered as he came up to the two of them. "Charles himself is tolerable, but his daughter..." He let the sentence trail off as Isabella turned to look at the trio, as if she knew the topic of their conversation was her. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of baby blue. They might have been able to make any man fall at her feet if there was a pleasant emotion behind them, but at the moment they were locked with Aerie's own golden orbs, and the pirate could feel nothing but disgust and contempt coming from those eyes. She gave Aerie a once-over and smirked at Aerie's supposed lack of wealth. Immediately, Aerie clenched her hands into fists at her sides and clenched her jaw. She hated it when rich people looked down on others because of their social status.

Izo's hand grabbed her upper arm, just as she was considering saying something nasty. "Not worth it," he muttered lowly, barely moving his lips so Isabella couldn't read them. Her smirk grew when she saw Izo having to restrain Aerie. Finally, her eyes landed on Thatch, who was leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. They widened and she quirked an eyebrow at him, but still said nothing. After another moment, she turned her head back in the direction she was originally facing, where Marco was walking toward them, a calm smile on his face. Aerie knew how Izo would have finished his earlier sentence: _she's a royal pain in the ass!_

"Sir Charles, welcome," Marco greeted the governor pleasantly. He turned toward the daughter and his smiled faltered a little. "And I see you brought Lady Isabella with you. How...nice to see you again."

Aerie couldn't see the girl's face, but she imagined she wore a sultry smile with the words she spoke next. "Lovely to see you again, too, Marco," she cooed while extending her hand. He bent over and kissed her knuckles like a true gentleman. Aerie had to physically restrain herself from gagging.

"Charlie!" Whitebeard boomed from the center of the deck. "Come over here! Word is you're having trouble!"

Charles nodded solemnly. "You heard correctly, Captain Newgate. But," he glanced around the deck, "I was hoping to discuss it in private."

Whitebeard waved a hand dismissively. "Say no more. We'll talk in my quarters." He rose to his full height of eighteen feet and led the governor into the depths of the ship, leaving Isabella on the deck. She sauntered over to Marco.

"My, my, it has been a long time, Marco. How long has it been since we saw each other last?" She asked smoothly.

"I'd say about six years, Isabella," he answered stiffly.

She hummed in agreement and turned to where Aerie, Izo, and Thatch were still standing. "I see you have gathered new crew members. Or do you still call them your family?"

Marco made an attempt at a laugh. "Of course we do. Pops adopts us, so we are his children."

Isabella made another hum as she slowly advance on the trio, like a cat on it's prey. She stopped in front of them, blue eyes gleaming dangerously. "Good day, Izo," she said silkily, extending a hand.

Izo did not kiss it. "Isabella," he said rigidly.

"You look well."

"Likewise." There was no compliment coming from either side of the exchange.

Isabella next fixed her eyes on Thatch, completely ignoring Aerie. "Who do we have here?"

"I'm Thatch. It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady," he said kissing her hand like Marco.

She smiled demurely, but Aerie knew she was faking it. "The pleasure is all mine, Thatch." Aerie rolled her eyes. Isabella glanced at her, but her gaze did not remain there long.

"He's our Fourth Division Commander, Isabella," Marco said, walking up behind her.

She turned around with fake shock. "But, I thought that big fellow was. Oh, what was his name? Flynn?"

"Flynn died and you know it," Izo growled, not bothering to hide his emotions any more. Marco shot him a warning look. Meanwhile, Isabella acted as though nothing had happened and had set her sights on her next victim: Aerie.

"Well, well," she purred, narrowing her eyes. "Who is this? I do not remember her being here last time either. Do not tell me Red died and she is her replacement," she said, but she made it sound like she wanted that to be the truth. Red...does she mean Eliza? Aerie felt Thatch and Izo tense on either side of her, and Marco was about to say something, but Aerie stopped him.

"Aerie," she said coldly, extending a hand. "And no, I'm not anyone's replacement. I just joined." Isabella looked down at the hand held out to her with disdain. Clearly she did not like the gesture to be thrust out to her like she did to other people. After a minute of cold stares between the two, Aerie dropped her hand, but did not look away. The atmosphere became thicker and thicker as the men watched their standoff, but did not say anything. During this time, Apollo landed on the deck and began to happily munch on whatever poor creature he had managed to catch. Eventually, Isabella looked away.

"Well," she sniffed, "if you are not Red's replacement, then where is she? Hiding from little old me?"

Speak of the devil; at that moment, Eliza came out on deck, wearing a green sweater and jeans rather than her usual nurse's uniform. She was intently reading the clipboard in her little hands through reading glasses, eyebrows scrunched in thought. Isabella and Marco currently had their backs to her, but Izo, Thatch, and Aerie did not, and could clearly see the redhead. Izo's eyes widened a fraction and he stared at Eliza, as though willing her to look up and see the danger ahead of her. Fortunately, Isabella's attention was still focused on Aerie and not Izo, so she could not see his staring. Unfortunately, Eliza opened her mouth before glancing upwards.

"Hey, Thatch?" She asked, still not watching where she was going. Isabella's eyes gained a wicked gleam and she turned around slowly. "I'm sorry, but it seems I let yer physical expire. Do ya want to do it now or..." She finally looked up and saw the group standing by the railing. Her green eyes fell on Isabella's smirking face and her whole body went still. Her jaw clenched as she adopted a stony expression. "Isabella," she said evenly.

Isabella smiled a feral smile. "Hello, Elizabeth," she said with fake politeness, poison dripping from every word. "How does life find you today?"

"Just fine," she gritted out.

Aerie could see a fight coming and moved forward to grab Isabella's attention. "I don't think we were done talking," she said.

Isabella ignored her. "Glad to see you are doing well. Kill anyone on the way here?"

Eliza's eyes narrowed a fraction. "No, for yer information, I did not. I gave up that occupation."

"Really? From what I have seen, you did not." Eliza's eyes narrowed even more. "I am surprised your friends still want you here with that horrible thing in your past."

Eliza pulled her lips back in a snarl and showed some of her teeth. "You don't know anythin' about me," she growled. "Shut up."

Isabella took a step forward. "No, I do not think I will. I wonder why are you still here? You do know that you are still wanted within this country's borders, do you not? Your friends might have forgiven you, but," she took another step toward Eliza, "no one else here has."

Aerie could feel feel the tension in the air thicken as Eliza angrily proclaimed, "That wasn't my fault!" Was it her imagination, or did she see tears gathering in the petite redhead's eyes? She nudged Thatch in order to persuade him into taking action.

Just as Isabella was going to say something else, Marco stood in between them. He was furious. "Enough, yoi! I don't want to hear another word from you!" He glared at Isabella.

Thatch moved forward and put his hand on Eliza's shoulder, showing his support. "I think we should take care of that physical now," he said. He glanced back up at the blonde. "Nice meeting you," he stated flatly to Isabella, then turned Eliza around and slid his hand to rest between her shoulder blades, gently leading her to the safety of below deck. At that moment, Whitebeard and Sir Charles came back onto the deck, but not before Whitebeard got a good look at Eliza's stony face. He glanced up at the group and frowned at Marco, who tilted his head in Isabella's direction as if to say, _It's her fault_.

"Well, thank you, Captain," Sir Charles continued talking, unaware of the silent conversation between Whitebeard and the First Division Commander. "I hope we will be able to solve this matter before this weekend."

"Indeed," the giant man rumbled.

"I also hope you and your men will be available for Isabella's twenty-fourth birthday party Saturday night."

"Sure, sure, Charlie. We'll be there. Just as long as there's plenty of food and drinks."

Sir Charles laughed. "Of course! I will have my staff prepare all week long. Let me know as soon as you discover anything about this gang or their leader. Come now, Isabella. We need to go home."

Whitebeard waved the pair away with a massive hand. As soon as they were off deck, he looked down at Marco. "Take the first division and spread out over the city. Search everywhere for this gang's base. We don't need to stay here longer than we have to." Marco nodded and set off to give orders.

Ah, so he doesn't seem to like it any more than the rest of us, Aerie thought, filing the information away for later use. The mammoth of a man turned his yellow gaze on her. "Aerie," he said, "once everyone is gone, I want to talk to you."

The deck cleared quickly. Once a crew member was given an order, he immediately set off to fulfill that order to the best of his ability. Soon enough, the deck was empty save for Aerie and Whitebeard, who had moved back to sitting in his large chair. She walked in front of him and sat down, wondering why he wanted to talk to her specifically. He stared at her, as if trying to see into her mind and soul. Aerie tensed, but did not drop her gaze.

He spoke after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "Aerie, my child, what has upset Elizabeth? She was fine before we docked, and she just left the deck with tears in her eyes. I hate seeing my children upset."

Aerie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I honestly don't know...Pops." The last part was added after a short pause; Aerie was still not quite used to calling the man her father. "It's just...as soon as she saw Isabella, she got all weird and quiet. And when they started talking, she became agitated with whatever it was Isabella said. I have no idea what it was, but I think it was something that happened between the two of them in the past."

He was silent as he thought this over. "I see," he said eventually. "And no one mentioned what is was they were talking about?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Probably best if you heard it from Elizabeth herself. Now," he leaned forward in his chair, "that wasn't the only reason I wanted to talk to you. I'm sure you're wondering why I put you in the first division so soon?"

Aerie nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering that. It isn't because of my fighting skills, is it? Because, according to Marco, I seem to be lacking in that department."

"No, no, you can fight just fine from what I hear. You see, the reason I want you in the first division is because of your mobility. Men and women in that division are usually the scouts of the crew. They often stay on islands we claim too, mostly because they are the most independent of the crew. Plus," he grinned, "it keeps you in plain sight for the government people looking for the other you."

Aerie mulled this over. "So, in other words, I'm capable of moving about myself, can handle my own in a fight, and am a criminal listed under two different bounties."

"Exactly, child."

Aerie shook her head, but smiled all the same. "Thanks, Pops!"

He nodded. "Now, go on. I'm sure Marco will need the extra eyes in the sky." Aerie nodded back and walked over where Apollo was laying down. He had finished his meal and was going to take a nap when Aerie hopped on his back and coaxed him into standing up. He made an unhappy noise, but complied with her wishes. The two took off into the skies, soon leaving the _Moby Dick_ far behind them.

* * *

**Whew! This one took forever to write! It's almost twice the length of my normal chapters, so I'm hoping to make this the new length. Just know it will take me longer to update when I write these longer ones. I'm hoping to make them longer still, but I realized it's been almost a week since I updated, so I ended it there. Kind of a cliffhanger, with the unanswered question of Eliza and Isabella and who is terrorizing the people of Steamworks. I'm also currently away from home on vacation, so I won't have as many opportunities to write. But the next one should be up soon. I won't give an absolute date, because our vacation schedule is still up in the air. Oh, and I think there will be a very special guest in the next chapter!**

**What do you think of the story so far? Too rushed? Too confusing? Let me know by reviewing, favoriting and following!**

**One more thing: if it crosses your mind, please pray for my sister. She's going off to college by herself far away from home. Just pray she will be safe in the big, big world all by herself. Thanks!**

**~Batsy**


	9. Chapter 8: Private Eyes

**Are you guys still there? If you are, here's the next one!**

**Review response time!**

**Savage Kill: Hey thanks! Haha I have a bit of a plan regarding the sixteen divisions. I think second division is the navigators and the sixteenth is the sharpshooters, but that's just a guess. I'm working in it though. :) As for Isabella...you might or might not be right. Guess you'll have to wait to find out. ;)Haha yeah, I intended for this island to kind of be like a Victorian-era town. Especially with the automatons and other steampunk/clockwork stuff. Thanks for your support!**

**Anime1FREAK: Thanks, I will!**

**HaleyComet: Thanks! I try to write Aerie so she's not a Mary Sue, but you're right, her high bounty is a common quality of a Mary Sue. And I have a good reason for that. While strength does certainly factor in to a person's bounty, I see it more as the more one pisses off the World Government, the higher bounty they have, i.e., Luffy escaping Smoker on Loguetown and going to the Grand Line, or Eustass Kid's endless slaughtering of innocent civilians. Do you think so? From my standpoint, as the author, I feel as so the story is rather sloppy and poorly written, especially the fist six chapters and the prologue. I am trying to draw it out more so it's not as rushed and so y'all get longer chapters at the same time. The main reason the first chapters are so short is because I was really lazy and didn't want to spend more than a day writing each chapter. *sweatdrop* I'm also looking forward to the more canon stuff, but you're right; at this point, it's still another five years until Luffy is even born. So for now, I'm going to stay at the whole pre-canon storyline so I have a bit more wiggle room when it comes to writing the story. Thanks so much for your support and comments!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Private Eyes

Thatch followed Eliza in complete silence, hand now removed from her back. From behind her, Thatch could observe the petite woman without her noticing. Her shoulders were tensed and her back was ramrod straight, meaning she was still riled up from her row with Isabella. Thatch, like Aerie, had no clue what caused the two to go at it like they did, but he knew it wasn't his business. All he knew was if Isabella had a problem with one of them, she had a problem with all of them. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what made them so angry with each other.

The further the two went into the ship, the thicker the silence became, neither one knowing quite how to break it. Once they arrived at the infirmary door, Eliza took a deep breath and turned around to face Thatch. "Look, Thatch," she started, but he stopped her by raising his hand.

"Eliza it's fine," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to tell me anything. What happened is obviously in the past, so we should leave it there."

"But-"

"Not buts," he stated firmly. "Tell when you're ready. Until then, I'm okay with disliking Isabella for the fact she's an ass." Eliza smiled a little. "Let's get this physical over with so we can help the others."

She turned around again to unlock the door, but she added very quietly, "Thank you." She had him sit on one of the beds in the empty room while she readied the supplies she would need for his physical. She pulled out his expired form and grabbed a new one from a file of blanks. Finally ready, she sat in a chair next to the bed he was sitting on.

As expected, Thatch performed exceptionally well. His reflexes and physical condition were top-notch, like practically everyone else on Whitebeard's crew. In fact, when Eliza hit his knee with the reflex hammer, she had to move her head out of the way in order to not be kicked by his foot. Satisfied, she filed the new form with is old one and stored it away with the rest of the crew's in one of the cabinets running along the floor. She turned back around to face Thatch and saw him smiling at her.

"Ready to go?" He asked. Everything about him, his body language, his face, said he was eager to help the others with their search, but his eyes told her he was still concerned if she was alright.

Eliza knew she had to tell him, so she might as well do it now. She sat on the bed next to his and said, "Not quite." He tilted his head and drew his eyebrows together in a silent question. "Before we go out there, I want to tell ya what happened between Isabella and I." He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again and nodded.

Eliza took a deep breath and began to tell her story.

~...~

From her viewpoint on Apollo's back, Aerie could literally see everything on Steamworks. The island was made of tightly packed buildings, all looking as though they were stacked on top of one another. There was a river that spilt the island nearly in half and continued out into the sea. Towards the center of the town she was flying over, there was a large clock tower boldly claiming it was currently two o'clock in the afternoon. On a big hill away from the city was an enormous mansion, which Aerie could only assume belonged to the governor and his daughter. She could see the people milling about, either walking, riding horses, or in carriages much like the one the governor had. They all dressed a lot like Sir Charles and Isabella did, with variations on the designs of suits and dresses. The crew was there, walking around asking the locals questions. She could even see the poor folks, sleeping in the narrow alleys between buildings or out on the streets themselves, begging for spare change. What she couldn't see, though, was any clue regarding the whereabouts of the gang. She made a sound of frustration and flopped backwards on Apollo's back. She had been out here for an hour, and she had gotten nowhere! _I wonder how the rest of the crew is doing. Hopefully better than I am._

Something bright blue flickered in the corner of her vision. She turned her head and saw Marco with his arms transformed into fiery wings. He glared at her, but there was no force behind it. "No lying down on the job, yoi!" He yelled. Aerie rolled her eyes and sat up.

"Find anything?" She called out. He shook his head and she sighed. "Me neither. I'm going to look on the ground. Maybe I can find something there." Marco shrugged and flew away, which Aerie took as permission to do as she pleased. She directed Apollo over to a nearby rooftop and landed. She patted his neck as she slid off. "I'll see you soon, buddy," she said to her bird. As she walked away, she had a thought, then turned around and grabbed her Artful Dodger cloak from his saddle bag.

Jumping down from the roof wasn't a problem. It was the accidentally landing on someone in the alley that was the problem. He let out a surprised yell, and Aerie was reminded of a time not to long ago when the same thing had happened involving a Marine private. The only difference being the other time she jumped on the person on purpose. She quickly got off the man and said an apology, not that he would know; he was out cold. Wincing, Aerie walked out of the alley, clasping her cloak around her throat while doing so.

The view from the street was considerably different than the one from the sky. For one thing, now that she was down here, Aerie could see how filthy the city really was. For another thing, she could see what she first assumed was an abundance of people actually turned out to be an almost even amount of people and automatons. She drew curious looks from people walking by. Upon closer inspection, Aerie noticed the women all wore dresses or skirts while only the men wore pants like she was, thus explaining why she drew the attention of the citizens. She made a mental note to buy a skirt or a dress from one of the shops or vendors lining the street so she could change. Until then, she intended to continue her search.

As she walked, Aerie overheard several conversations, most of them about the pirates' presence.

"Do you think Whitebeard will stop the attacks?"

"Who knows? Hopefully he will before they get to be too strong. Have you heard how many of the citizens actually want him gone?"

"They say Whitebeard's fury can rival that of Gol D. Roger's. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near them, personally. Pirates are nothing but trouble."

"Are you coming to the rally tonight? They're having a speech to recruit more citizens."

Now, _that_ was interesting. Aerie slowed down to hear more about this meeting, pretending to examine food from a vendor's stall. The comment had been made by one of two men standing in the mouth of an alley.

"Aye, I'll be there," the second one said. "Where is it again?"

"In the abandoned warehouse on the south side of the island at midnight. The password is 'so is Charles'. Knock three times first," Said the first man.

"'So is Charles', knock three times. Got it. I'll be there." With that, the two went their separate ways, leaving Aerie to mull this over.

She couldn't believe her luck! Not even fifteen minutes of walking had revealed more than one hour of flying had. She smiled to herself, thinking how they could solve this problem in one afternoon rather than taking a whole week. Her face fell, however, when it occurred to her that it could be a trap, especially if those two men were talking about it so openly in public. Then again, another person had mentioned there were a lot of the island's citizens were on this gang's side...

Aerie was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the vendor come back to his stall, or when he tried to get her attention. She was pulled from her musings when he cleared his throat and asked pleasantly, "May I help you, miss?"

Startled, Aerie looked up at the young man who appeared to be around the same age as her and had to bite back a gasp. At first glance, this young man bore a striking resemblance to her dear friend Marine Captain Carlyle. Both had the same sandy blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. However, this man's body was far sturdier than Carlyle's, with a square jaw, thick neck, and decent-sized muscles on his arms. She couldn't see the rest of his body, but she would bet it was pretty similar. In fact, Aerie thought he was quite handsome. Now she realized it wasn't Carlyle, she relaxed a little. He was still smiling expectantly at her, waiting for an answer. Aerie blushed and stammered about wanting to buy one of the sausage, onion, and pepper sandwiches he was selling. He chuckled and began preparing one for her, while she focused on getting the color out if her burning cheeks.

"So," he said after a moment, "you're not from around here, are you?" She shook her head as a response, so sure she would make a fool of herself if she tried speaking. _What's wrong with me?_ She asked herself. _I'm twenty years old for Heaven's sake. I shouldn't be blushing like a school girl._

"No, I'm not," she replied with a smile. "I'm just passing through. Is it that obvious?"

He chuckled again. "Your pants. Women don't wear them here."

_Good Lord in Heaven above that voice! Stop it, Aerie! Focus!_ "Yeah, I noticed that. Do you know where I can buy a skirt or a dress for not a lot of money?"

"Just down the street, there's a shop that sells good quality clothes for low cost." He said, nodding his head to the left.

"Thanks," she smiled again. "I'm Aerie, by the way."

"Lewis. I'd shake your hand, but," he showed her his hands covered in sausage grease.

"That's fine. It smells delicious!"

"Thank you," he said handing her the sandwich in a wax paper. She thanked him for the second time and took a bite of the sandwich. Delicious didn't begin to cover the taste of it. The bread was buttery and toasted, the sausage fried just right, and the onions and the peppers were sautéed to perfection. She moaned with delight, then blushed again and covered her mouth with her empty hand.

"Sorry," she mumbled behind her hand. "How much is it?"

"For you," he leaned across the stall careful not to touch the griddle, "free of charge."

Aerie swallowed. "F-free? You don't need to do that."

"Why shouldn't I? It's my business isn't it? I reserve the right to give away sandwiches to beautiful ladies if I see fit."

Aerie laughed. "You're very generous, Lewis, but I'm everything but beautiful. And I'm most definitely _not_ a lady." Lewis hummed and tilted his head and raised his eyebrows a little. He had an unreadable look in his eyes that made Aerie look away. She took another bite of the sandwich.

After a moment of thoughtful chewing, she figured now would be a good of time as ever to ask about the gang. "So," she began carefully, "I've heard people around here talking about a gang problem. Is that true?"

Lewis's demeanor changed instantaneously. His eyes darkened a little and he straightened up. "Yeah, it's getting serious. People 'round here are getting scared of what might happen if they don't side with the gang. Fortunately, there are still some of us loyal to the governor, even if he's being a bit of a pain."

Aerie turned back to him. "How so? And why don't the local police do anything?" She asked. Any kind of information helped, after all.

He began to clean his griddle with a spatula, avoiding eye contact. "Well," he started, "lately Sir Charles has been more concerned about building more factories along the river, making it worse than it already is, as I'm sure you've noticed." She nodded. "He's not helping out the people as much either like he used to. His main focuses are making the island richer and finding a husband for that brat of his, Lady Isabella." He frowned. "Don't get me wrong, he's a good man. He's just not doing what he needs to be doing as the governor right now. Also, we don't have police here. Most people are too afraid to cause trouble because of the threat of Whitebeard's wrath."

Aerie mulled this over. "So he's trying to find a husband for Isabella? How's that going?"

"No clue. The girl can be pretty charming when she wants to be. But when she doesn't..." He left the sentence hanging.

"She can be a real snot." Aerie finished.

Lewis raised an eyebrow. "You've met her, huh?"

"Unfortunately, I have met Isabella. Her and a close friend of mine have a bad history, apparently."

He hummed again and leaned across the counter again, tilting his head to look at her. "You know, you're awful curious for someone 'just passing through'. You're with the Whitebeards, aren't you?"

Aerie sighed and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah... Sorry for lying earlier. I was sent to find out anything I could about the problems here."

Lewis stood back up. "No harm, no foul," he said. "I wish I knew sooner, I could have told you the more important stuff first, then that other stuff at the end."

"'More important stuff'? Like what?"

"Like you should be really careful when taking these guys down. I want them gone as much as the next person, but they're extremely dangerous. Their leader is something else, real clever, always one step ahead of the governor and everyone else."

"Do you know his name?"

Lewis leaned forward and motioned Aerie to do the same. "No one knows his real name. One of those types who prefers to puppeteer his men from the shadows. But when they do address him, they call him the Machinist."

_"The Machinist", huh? This guy almost sounds like the Dodger, not letting anyone see his face_. Aerie thought this over while Lewis watched her face carefully. "Alright," she said finally. "Thank you very much. For everything, I mean."

He nodded and gave a welcome hum. As she turned to go, he said, "Please be careful, Aerie. This Machinist is really dangerous. I'd hate to see you get hurt." She saw and heard genuine concern coming from the young man, so she smiled reassuringly and left the sandwich stall.

~...~

Once Eliza finished talking, Thatch sat back and stared at the ceiling. What she had told him was pretty heavy stuff. No wonder she reacted the way she did, as though the guilt still haunted her. He looked at his young friend. She was looking at the floor, doing her best not to meet his gaze. After another moment of silence, he spoke up.

"Thank you for telling me, Eliza. I understand how hard it must have been." She didn't move, eyes still staring a hole into the floor. "Hey, look at me." She didn't oblige, so he gently lifted her chin with his first two fingers. He gazed into her bright green eyes for a moment before saying, "I don't care what Isabella says," he pulled her to her feet and into a hug, "it wasn't your fault what happened."

Eliza froze for a second, then smiled and hugged him back, tears of gratitude coming to her eyes. She quickly pushed them down before pulling back and giving Thatch a wry grin. "Thank ya, Thatch. Now, let go of me ya big oaf, we've got a gang to find." He laughed and obliged with her request, and the two of them finally left the infirmary to search for their mystery gang.

~...~

As soon as Aerie left the sandwich stall, she went and bought herself a long, black skirt and a pair of boots from the shop Lewis recommended. Although the item would make running away more difficult, it allowed her to blend into the crowd more easily than her pants would have. Even though he seemed like a nice person, it unsettled her to know Lewis could guess she wasn't from around here so quickly. Once that was accomplished, she went back onto the street. She needed to find Marco so she could tell him everything she had learned. But where did he go? He wasn't flying around directly overhead, so that meant he was either at the ship or over another part of the island. Aerie decided the best way to know would be to climb on to the roofs and look there.

Now, free climbing up the side of a building in pants is one thing. Doing the act in a long skirt is another thing entirely. It got under her feet and nearly caused her to fall on several occasions, which could have resulted in broken bones or worse, depending where she was on the building. However, she did manage to climb all the way to the top. And, who was waiting for her on the roof, watching her progress with his usual lazy smirk?

Indeed, it was that smug pigeon-commander, Marco the Phoenix. As she stood there with her hands balled in to fists; panting and out of breath; cheeks bright red with embarrassment, he tilted his head slightly and teasingly asked, "Did you have a nice climb, yoi?"

"Shut up," she gasped.

"Why didn't you just call Apollo? It wouldn't have taken you as long that way." The only response he got was a glare and a huffed _whatever_ as she looked away.

When Aerie finally got her breath back, she turned back to him and asked, "Did you actually find anything useful, or have you been up here watching me the whole time?"

His expression turned serious. "Actually, I did." She raised an eyebrow. "Turns out, we have a bit of a problem. More of the citizens are siding with this gang than we originally expected. Apparently there's another rally of some sort to recruit more of them."

Aerie nodded. "I heard the same thing. And listen to this." She told him everything she knew, including what she overheard and what she learned from Lewis.

Marco frowned. "This is bad. If people are willing to talk about in public like that, than it's way worse than we anticipated. We should tell Pops and the others about this. Maybe we can manage to sneak in to that rally." He looked off to the horizon. "The Machinist, huh? Sounds like he's trying to be you with the fake name and such."

"Tell me about it. Some people are just so unoriginal."

He chuckled. "Let's get back to the ship. Once we're there we'll call everyone back and decide on a better plan of action."

~...~

By the time they had gathered everyone back at the _Moby Dick_, it was almost sunset. Reporting to Pops and the crew hadn't taken that long at all, so the only thing was to decide what their next move would be. Most of the commanders and the men favored going to the rally that night. Some, such as Eliza and Izo, were not.

"It sounds awful dangerous," the Irish woman protested. "And it could very well be a trap."

"I'm with Elizabeth," said Izo, "we don't know what we're walking into here."

Whitebeard was in the opinion that the whole crew should go, trap or not, and put an abrupt end to the Machinist's influence. In the end, though, it was decided some of the lesser or unknown members would attend the rally and report back to their respective commanders and Whitebeard himself. Aerie volunteered to go as well, only in her Artful Dodger costume.

"The Dodger can go places a pirate can't," she reasoned when Eliza questioned her. "No one knows who he is, and he's not been known to be friends with pirates either." She also argued he would be more welcome than "Golden Eagle" Aerie would. Whitebeard agreed with her and gave her permission to go, but to advance with extreme caution.

"We don't need to lose our secret weapon, or our sister," he warned her. She promised to be careful, settling the agreement.

Aerie and the group she was with decided to let her go in first, just to see if the gang would let a criminal like her in. While she didn't like being the experiment's lab rat, she did see that if it was a trap, the crew would lose only one member rather than three. So, with this in mind, she walked up to the door of the abandoned warehouse on the south side of the island just a couple minutes before midnight. She knocked on the door three times, just like the man had said to do. She could feel the three crewmen's eyes on her back as a little sliding door at eye level opened up. She could feel the skepticism in the man's gaze as he said, "Talk is cheap."

_This must be when I say the password_, she thought. "So is Charles," she said, deepening he voice to sound like a man's, or at least a boy's. The sliding door closed abruptly and the real door opened, revealing the stout man behind it. His ruddy face contorted into a scowl when he took in her full appearance. She wore a white dress shirt with a black vest over it; underneath she had wrapped her chest with bandages to cover her breasts. She had on loose black pants tucked in to the new black boots she had bought earlier that day. Over the entire ensemble was her black cloak, clasped at the throat. On her head, the large black hat; and on her face, the black bird's mask, revealing only her golden eyes.

The man snorted. "Think you're clever, don't cha? Dressin' like ta ol' Dodger. Don't think it'll work on me youngin'."

Aerie had expected this. So she tilted her head and simply stated, "Believe what you want, old man, but I am the Artful Dodger."

"Then why are ya here, Artie?"

She had expected this too. "I overheard some of your men this afternoon, in the midst of a large crowd, discussing this meeting. If I've heard of it, who else do you think has as well?" He looked taken aback, and was stopped by Aerie from saying anything else. "As for why I am here... I come merely to observe. I like pirates as much as the next respectable citizen, and a little rebellion is always interesting, even in a town as small as this."

The man gave her the once-over again and spat to the side. Her story seemed to be believable enough, so he let her in. She walked to the back of a large crowd facing a hastily-built stage. Around the warehouse were several banners boldly proclaiming the name "Wrenchers", which Aerie reasoned was the name if the gang. Hanging from two poles on the stagewere banners depicting a person in a solid black face mask that was a single piece of plastic. Over one eye was a monocle and his hands formed a bridge in front of where his chin would be. On his head was a top hat with a small golden gear sewn over the silk hat band. On his left arm hung a shiny black cane. Aerie thought it was rather ironic he dressed so much like the man he wanted gone.

Looking around, Aerie noticed a balcony running along the wall about twenty feet off of the ground. No one was currently up there, so it would be the perfect place for her to hide and "observe" as she had said. She made her way over to the wall closest to her to find a set of stairs. She found one, but it had several holes and had collapsed in a couple places. Aerie figured it would be better than shimmying up one of the columns in front of the large crowd, so she carefully climbed up the stairs.

The balcony wasn't in much better shape than the stairs; it also had holes and thin spots. Aerie found herself a sturdy-looking spot along the rim to sit and watch the rally. She saw the other crew members walk in to the crowd and stand at the back in order to not draw attention to themselves.

In the distance, the clock tower rang, announcing that it was now midnight. The crowd below her was getting anxious waiting for the rally to start. Suddenly, all of the lights in the building went out as one, leaving the crowd in the warehouse angry and confused. As quick as they went off, the lights came back on, revealing the hoard of people once more. Only this time, there was a man standing on the stage, wearing the same outfit as the man on the banner.

_So this is the elusive Machinist_, Aerie thought as she looked down at him from her vantage point on the balcony. He raised the receiver of a den-den mushi to where his mouth would be and spoke, "Good evening, friends. It is a great honor to see all of you here tonight." All around the warehouse, his voice was broadcast through other snails so the entire crowd could hear him speak. "I apologize for the mask, but I can't have any of you knowing who I am before the moment is right. I don't know if I can trust all of you yet, but I will by the end of the night.

"Friends, we are facing difficult times," he said, "we are oppressed by a selfish governor and a mindless pirate." Aerie felt anger bubble in her chest at that remark, but remained silent and still. "We are not free to choose who we want as protectors or as leaders. When was the last time we had an election? When was the last time we were allowed to decide the fate our island?" There were murmurs coming from the citizens as they discussed this amongst themselves. Aerie saw one of the men from the crew, Jack, shake his head in exasperation.

"I can change that. _We_ can change that."

The crowd became silent once more as they became entranced by the man known as the Machinist. "If you follow me, we can rid ourselves of Sir Charles and Whitebeard."

One brave voice in the crowd called out, "How?"

"I already have an army. Once Charles is gone, I can claim this island as my own," the Machinist answered.

Another voice called out, "Do you really think Whitebeard would give up the island that easily?"

The Machinist tilted his head in acknowledgement. "No, I do not." He raised a hand to silence the protests coming at once from the crowd. "But," the crowd became quiet, "I have plans regarding some of his own and the DuBois brat. And rumor has it Whitebeard would do anything for his crew." The last sentence was dark and sinister and sent red flags and alarms ringing in Aerie's head. The only voice left in her head was telling her to _get out now, you idiot_. She saw the other crew members begin making their way to the exit, but she knew she couldn't leave yet. Her identity was better well hidden, so she thought she could be safe for a couple more minutes. Her head turned back to the stage as the Machinist began speaking again.

"I know things seem vague right now, friends, but trust me when I say I will lead us through this. I have the ability to topple the forces oppressing us, the people of Steamworks, if you'll follow me. So, it is up to you.

"Will you let me lead you?"

The crowd burst into applause at the magnificent speech, showing their undying support for the man who hid his face. But the Machinist wasn't done yet.

"My good friend the doorman told me we have a special guest here tonight. Another man famous for his love of freedom and hate of government. Ladies and gentlemen, we have with us here a legend. If any of you are interested, the head of the Artful Dodger can be yours tonight, that is, you can catch him. Think of it as a way of proving your loyalty. The last I checked, he is worth two hundred seventy-five million beli. And I believe he is right up there." A spotlight hit Aerie on her perch on the balcony, instantly revealing her position to everyone in the room. She felt all of the heads of the citizens swivel around to her. Aerie felt her stomach drop to the floor and she realized how clever the Machinist really was, using her as a instant-brownie-points card. He had probably planned this as soon as he heard she was there. She hoped the others had gotten out in time, cursing herself for not leaving when she should have. And as the people began making their way to where she was, only one thought ran through her mind:

_Pops is going_ to kill _me_.

* * *

**New chapter! New friends! New villain! No bratty rich kid! Hallelujah!**

**Haha, Aerie's got a C-R-U-S-H! (Kind of; I'm really bad with romance.) Annnnd she's also in a bit of a pickle. Cliffhangers for everyone!**

**Thatch and Eliza have a best friend moment! Good for them! You guys thought you would get a backstory today, didn't you? ;) Not this time!**

**Surprise visit from the Artful Dodger! Though, she's not ****_really_**** visiting because it ****_is_**** her story...**

**So, you know what to do! I'm begging you to please favorite, follow, and (most importantly) REVIEW! **

**Until next time!**

**~Batman**

**P.S. (Wow I do a lot of these.) I have an idea for a new story. Nothing solid yet, just a thought. I think I'm going to wait a bit to get this story well-established, though. But, if I do, will you read it?**

***Edited as of 8.22.2014***


	10. Chapter 9: Captured

**Yay! Another one down! I'm hoping to be done with Steamworks in one more chapter, then moving on to a new arc. I've got it pretty well plotted out, but it's still up in the air. I've already changed the ending of this arc about three times, so I'll probably do something different for the next arc than I have planned. **

**Savage Kill: Yes, Boy Wonder, a Mary Sue bounty. Patent pending, invented by me for the purpose of this story. ;) Yep, there's gonna be some excitement in the next chapter for sure. As for more canon stuff, I want to add some characters from the current storyline (I'm not naming names) and eventually get to Roger's death so I can move on even further. I don't know yet if I'm going to extend the story long enough to twenty-four years into the future, I'm still hammering out the details. If I do, it might just be a separate story all together. Thanks for your support!**

**EnchantedTales: Ahhhhh! Strange people are chasing her! Who will come to her rescue?**

**DarkAngelLida: Indeed, she did get caught. But will she escape in time? Or will she fall to the evil plans of the Machinist? Find out in the next exciting chapter of The Artful Dodger!**

**How was that? I'm working on my action-show voice. As for ending up with another character... I honestly have no clue. Whenever I'm writing a new arc or another part of the story, I usually write the first thing that comes to my mind. So for the next arc, I'm thinking about a cold and dark place... **

**Thanks so much for your support!**

**Guest: Hehe, sorry, but you'll have to get used to the cliffhangers. I like keeping you guys hanging. ;)**

**I keep forgetting this so: I don't own One Piece. Just everyone you don't recognize**.

* * *

Chapter 9: Captured

Marco slammed his fist down on the table, causing Aerie to wince. "What the _hell_ were you thinking, yoi?" He growled. "We told you it was dangerous, yet you insisted on staying. You could have been killed."

Aerie straightened, confidence returning slowly. "I made it out, didn't I? And I found out a little bit of the Machinist's plan, too."

"I don't care," he ground out. "You shouldn't be acting recklessly."

"How was I supposed to know he knew I was there?" Aerie demanded.

"You're the _freaking Artful Dodger, _yoi. With that price on your head, of course the doorman would tell him you were there."

Aerie opened her mouth to retort, but closed it, acknowledging he was right. She should have been more careful, but she wasn't, and was nearly caught because of it.

Eliza stepped in to the conversation, just finishing putting a band-aid on a cut on Aerie's left cheek. "Lay off, would ya?" She said to Marco. "She knows what she did wrong, and there's not point crying over spilled milk now." The dark look the Phoenix sent her made even the stubborn redhead back off a little.

"She's in my division, so she's my responsibility, Eliza," he said. He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "I just wish you would think these things through before acting, Aerie."

Aerie sighed, too. "I know, I just... I wanted to know what the Machinist was up to. I want to know why he's trying to get rid of the governor and Pops."

"Maybe," said Thatch, "but Marco's right. You're lucky you managed to escape."

Eliza turned back to the artist. "How did ya manage to escape, lass?"

Aerie sighed again and said, "Well, it was something like this..."

~...~

_A few hours earlier..._

"My good friend the doorman told me we have a special guest here tonight. Another man famous for his love of freedom and hate of government. Ladies and gentlemen, we have with us here a legend. If any of you are interested, the head of the Artful Dodger can be yours tonight, that is, you can catch him. Think of it as a way of proving your loyalty. The last I checked, he is worth two hundred seventy-five million beli. And I believe he is right up there." A spotlight hit Aerie on her perch on the balcony, instantly revealing her position to everyone in the room. She felt all of the heads of the citizens swivel around to her. Aerie felt her stomach drop to the floor and she realized how clever the Machinist really was, using her as a instant brownie points card. He had probably planned this as soon as he heard she was there. She hoped the others had gotten out in time, cursing herself for not leaving when she should have. And as the people began making their way to where she was, only one thought ran through her mind:

_Pops is going to _kill_ me._

Looking around her, Aerie desperately tried to think of some brilliant escape plan, but the only thing her brain would give her was every variation of every swear word she knew. She couldn't go down the stairs; no doubt the citizens had already blocked that and were climbing up them now. If she jumped, she could land on a person, which admittedly had happened before, but it would also leave her in the crowd. She saw some brave few already on the balcony, surrounding her and blocking her escape from either side.

_This can't be the end! I'm not gonna die this way!_ She thought indignantly. However, this was not looking good for the Golden Eagle or the Artful Dodger. Just as she was about to fight her way through the people, the balcony shuddered and groaned, then promptly collapsed.

It seemed the old building was fine with one woman who was of average weight, but it could not hold up her along with all the extra weight from the other people. So, down it went, carrying the elusive artist and the headhunting citizens with it.

The remains of the balcony landed on the floor of the warehouse with a large crash. Aerie really hoped there were no people below it when it fell, for they were likely flattened by the balcony by now. When the balcony landed, it caused quite the amount of dust to be sent up into the air as well. As she lay there slightly dazed, Aerie realized she could use the dust as a cover. She quickly removed the hat, mask, and cape she wore and shoved them under some of the rubble, resolving to come back later to collect them. She pulled herself out and stood for a moment, listening to the people around her.

"What happened?" One asked.

"Looks like the balcony collapsed." Another answered.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"What about the Dodger? Where'd he go?"

Aerie bent over and used the dust and dirt on the floor to cover her face and clothes, making it look like she had been in the accident. She also used a loose stone to cut her face. She slid under a beam, pretending to be trapped, and cried out for help. Someone heard her, and came to her rescue. He pushed the beam off of her and helped her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" The man asked, sounding like he was genuinely concerned.

Aerie coughed, acting like she inhaled dust. "I'm fine," she said, smiling weakly. "Thank you very much for your help!" He smiled in response and continued the search for the Artful Dodger. Aerie pretended to search, too. After a while, the citizens concluded the artist had escaped once again.

"Well, sir, it seems like he gave us the slip," one man said, turning to look at the Machinist, who was still standing, unmoving, on the stage.

"How disappointing," the masked man murmured, looking out over the crowd. Aerie froze as his head remained facing in her direction. She could feel his eyes boring into her for a moment, and she swallowed heavily. "Very well," he said eventually, "you all may go. Tell no one of what you heard tonight." The townspeople began to file out of the building, heading back home to their families.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aerie's rescuer asked kindly. "Do you need me to walk you home?"

She smiled back at him. He seemed nice, even if he was planning to overthrow the governor and kill her. "No, I'm alright. Thank you for you help." He nodded and walked away. Aerie followed suit, going in the opposite direction. As she walked, she bumped into something hard, causing her to stumble back a few steps.

That something hard turned out to be the Machinist's torso. She flushed a dark red and bowed deeply at the waist, apologizing profoundly, silently praying he wouldn't kill her.

The Machinist didn't say anything, just stared at her with his head slightly tilted. After a moment, he reached out a gloved hand and lifted her face up, thus raising the rest of her upper body. He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb along the small cut, wiping away the blood accumulated there and staining his white hand red. Aerie stared back at him, too afraid to speak. She was utterly terrified of what the mysterious man would do now that she was in his grasp.

Finally, he said, "Best to run along now, little bird. A storm's coming and you'll want to be safe and inside when it hits." Aerie nodded dumbly, feeling as though he was giving her a warning and a message. He released her face, gazing at her for another second, then turned and walked away into the shadows, hands in his pockets, long duster flaring out behind him. Aerie watched him, then she too turned and went away. Only difference was she didn't waste any time getting where she wanted to go.

~...~

_Present..._

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, once again, it was blind luck that allowed you to escape, yoi."

"Pretty much, yeah," Aerie nodded.

"It's curious as to how the Machinist acted around ya, though," Eliza said thoughtfully.

"Indeed," agreed Izo. "I wonder what he meant by having a 'plan for some of the crew and the governor's brat'. It's very ominous."

"As much of a pain as she is, it would be really bad for Isabella to get hurt," said Thatch. He and Eliza shared a glance before the latter looked down at the floor. No one noticed, except for Aerie. She didn't pay it any mind, though; she thought it just as two friends sharing a secret.

"Either way, it doesn't sound good," said Marco. The group was silent for a moment then he spoke again, saying, "We'll just have to find him and stop him before anything happens. But for now, we should all get some rest. We'll try to come up with a better plan in the morning." Everyone agreed and went off in their own directions for sleep.

Eliza fell asleep quickly, but Aerie was awake for a long time before sleep claimed her. She thought for a while of the Machinist, of his eerie words spoken with a gentle voice, of his reflective black mask that revealed nothing of his face, and of his evil intentions for herself and the crew. She couldn't help but think that they wouldn't be able to find him until he made his first move, not matter where they looked. She also thought about the people who didn't side with the Machinist and chose to remain loyal to Whitebeard and the governor. What would happen to them? Would they be killed or would they be spared? Eventually, she drifted into a fitful sleep with dreams filled with turning gears and hot steam.

~...~

Aerie's prediction turned out to be right; even with the entire crew searching, not a trace of the Machinist was found on Steamworks. They combed through every alley, building, and street of the island, but he had seemingly vanished into thin air. The townspeople weren't helping either; they either gave vague rumors or clammed up entirely when the Machinist was brought up.

Aerie spent the days either helping Marco in the air or walking the streets, Apollo never leaving her side. This was on Marco's insistence; the stupid pigeon wanted her to have a quick getaway if she was ever in trouble. This led to Aerie playfully asking if he was worried about her, to which he responded that no, he wasn't, but Pops was, and what Pops says, goes.

On the fourth day-Friday, the day before Isabella's party-Aerie was walking along a street with her big bird awkwardly walking beside her, when she heard someone calling her name. She looked around in all directions to look for the person calling her, and she found him.

It was Lewis, standing on the sidewalk with his stall, making his delicious sandwiches for a young couple. He waved her over as the young man paid for the two sandwiches. Aerie walked over, a grin on her face. He grinned back, causing her to nearly stumble in her step. He laughed at her clumsiness while she blushed.

"Hey Lewis," she said when she was closer to him. "How are you? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm fine, thanks. What-what happened to your face?" He asked.

"Huh?" She touched her face subconsciously and touched the cut on her left cheek. Eliza had taken off the band-aid the day before since it had stopped bleeding and had scabbed over. "Oh, well I cut it on accident." That wasn't true, but she didn't want to tell him why she cut herself in the first place; she might trust him, but not that much. "It was a couple days ago, so it's fine now."

"How on earth did you manage to cut it?" He asked, coming around to stand in front of her and examine her cheek, holding her head gently.

"Remember how you told me to be careful around the Machinist? I wasn't." He gave her a look telling her to continue. "There was a rally Tuesday night, and the balcony in the warehouse collapsed. I'm lucky I got by with just this."

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"I don't know. Not that I could see."

Lewis hummed and released her face. He noticed Apollo watching him with his head upside down and he laughed and copied the action. Apollo was taken aback by someone copying him, so he straightened and fluffed his feathers, trying to look even bigger than he already was. As Lewis stepped forward to pet him, he hopped back and gave an indignant squawk. Lewis chuckled and reached behind him to grab a raw sausage, which Apollo happily gobbled up. He pushed his head forward, willing to be petted now that Lewis had given him a treat.

The young man looked at Aerie. "Is he yours?" He asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "I found him when he was an egg. His parents had flown off, so I took him home and kept him warm until he hatched. He was cute back then." Apollo gave her a look, as if he knew what she was saying and didn't like it. "He got me with his beak when he hatched. I still have the scar." She showed Lewis the back of her right hand, where a pale line of skin ran from her index knuckle to the opposite bone on her wrist. He ran a finger over it and made a humming noise.

"You seem to have quite the exciting life, Aerie." He said.

Aerie sighed. "You don't know the half of it."

"What do you mean?"

Aerie was about to respond when she heard her name in the crowd again. She turned around to see Thatch frantically searching for her. She called his name and he whipped his head around, relief replacing the panic on his normally cheery face. He quickly walked to where she was and pulled her into a sudden hug. She gasped, not able to breathe in his rib-crushing embrace.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you," he said, hugging her tighter.

Aerie coughed. "I'm happy to see you, too, Thatch," she wheezed, "but I can't really breathe right now." Thatch apologized and released her. She took a deep breath and pushed her hair behind an ear.

Thatch took notice of Lewis then. "Oh, sorry, I kind of interrupted something, didn't I?" He asked sheepishly.

Lewis shrugged. "Not really, we were just chatting about life. Who're you?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" Aerie asked, standing in between them. "Lewis, this is Thatch, a good friend of mine on the ship. Thatch this is Lewis, a friend I made here in town. He's the one who told me about the Machinist."

"I see." The pompadoured man broke into a smile. "Well, in that case, any friend of Aerie's is a friend of mine!" He held out his hand and Lewis shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Thatch."

Aerie was glad the two were getting along, but she knew Thatch wouldn't come up and hug her for anything other than a good reason after looking so panicked. "What happened, Thatch? Why were you looking for me?"

The smile disappeared. "Eliza's gone."

"What? How?"

"I don't know. We were in the warehouse where the rally was, and she was climbing on the stage to look at a clue or something she had found. Apparently there was a trap door, and she fell through it. I looked everywhere under the stage and in the warehouse, but I couldn't find her." He sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped. "I remembered what that machine creep said about having a plan, so I came to find you since he saw you at the rally. Pops has ordered we all come back to the ship, and Marco is out looking and making sure no one else has been taken."

Aerie was shocked. Eliza was gone? She knew the Machinist had a plan, but she never would have expected this. She turned to Lewis, who was watching with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

He nodded. "Of course, by all means. I hope you find her."

Aerie smiled gratefully, then grabbed Thatch's arm. "C'mon," she urged, "We'll get there faster if we take Apollo." The pair hopped onto the back of the giant eagle and took off in the direction of the ship.

~...~

It was Saturday night, the night of Isabella's party. Despite how long they searched that day or the day before, no one on the crew could find any trace of Eliza. She seemed to have disappeared just as easily as the Machinist had Tuesday night. The ship was strangely lonely for Aerie, especially in their shared cabin. Of course, she still had the boys to talk to, but it wasn't the same without having her best friend to share private things with, like her most recent encounter with Lewis. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she could trust him, even though they had just met. When she had told Eliza this, the redheaded nurse gave her a knowing smirk and said nothing more.

If anything, Thatch and Aerie seemed to be the most concerned about Eliza's absence; the others were worried, certainly, just not on the scale the pompadoured man and the Golden Eagle were. Izo was concerned for the crew as a whole, and he said so when their search turned up nothing. He was worried that the Machinist would follow through with the rest of his threat for the rest of the crew. He suggested they stay on the ship instead of going to the mansion for Isabella's birthday party. Marco pointed out the Machinist was after her too, so even if they didn't like her, they should go as extra protection. Pops, he told them, had informed Sir Charles of the Machinist's plan that included Isabella, and the governor had some automatons built that day to serve as bouncers at her party. Personally, Aerie would have hired men and not machines, but it wasn't her decision so she kept her mouth shut.

Standing by herself in the doorway of the ballroom in the mansion and seeing all the people in their fancy dresses, Aerie felt very underdressed and very out of place. She was wearing the black skirt she had bought a few days earlier (she was too lazy to buy a whole new dress for one night) and the nicest blouse she currently owned, along with her new black boots. And seeing all the ladies of the court in their magnificent gowns, she had the thought that maybe this time she should have tried to blend in a bit harder. Although she was dragged to plenty of balls and dances hosted by the Marines by her father, she had never enjoyed them in the least. When it came to being rich, the only game that mattered was who's butt you could kiss first. And Aerie hated kissing up to anyone. She stood there for who knows how long before she decided to suck it up and go socialize.

Aerie fought her way through the crowd until she spotted a familiar head of golden-blonde hair. She walked up to the man in question and was about to greet him when she noticed what he was wearing, causing her to stop in her tracks.

Marco's clothes were nice enough; he wore a white collared shirt with a black jacket over it, black knee-length pants, and his usual sandals. This would have been acceptable, if it were not for the fact that he left this shirt completely unbuttoned, showing off his chest and Whitebeard tattoo. Aerie facepalmed before calmly finishing the walk up to him.

"Some party, eh, yoi?" He asked while looking at her with his eyes half-closed. "I think I saw someone gain a new enemy and lose a business partner all in one conversation. Truly interesting stuff, this court business is."

Aerie ignored him. "Marco, what are you wearing?"

"Eh?" He looked down at himself. "Um, a shirt. And some pants. I even added a jacket just for this evening. Why?"

Aerie pinched her nose. "I mean, why isn't your shirt buttoned?"

"Oh, that. I never button my shirts. Ladies dig the abs."

"Not these kinds of ladies," Aerie said through gritted teeth while gesturing to the court ladies giving him disgusted looks.

He looked around. "Well, how about that. They don't seem to, do they?" He shrugged. "And how about that? I don't care either."

"Maybe you should try. We're supposed to be blending in, not standing out. And when you flaunt that everywhere," she waved her hand at the tattoo, "then it's blatantly obvious as to who you are."

"...you're really bossy, you know that yoi?"

Aerie's jaw dropped to the floor and eyes went wide as she completely froze._ I can't believe he just said that!_ She quickly snapped out of her shock and said, "I'm the bossy one? That's rich, coming from you, _commander_."

"I know, but it's true. This is because I'm the commander and you," he poked her in the forehead, "are not."

She gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Whatever, Marco. Please just button your shirt."

"...no."

The vein reappeared. "Do it or I'll do it for you."

"Then you would be the first."

"...the first? At what?"

"Offering to put my shirt on for me rather than taking it off."

Aerie's face turned a shocking color of red and she collapsed to her hands and knees in embarrassment. "I hope you burn and die you filthy pervert," she moaned.

A shrug. "You're not the first to want that either. You walked right into that one, you know."

At that moment, Izo chose to appear. As he walked by the couple, he heard the last part of their conversation and saw Aerie slump to the floor. He quickly went to stand behind Marco and hit him over the head several times with the fan he held; rather hard too, because Marco joined Aerie on the floor with a bump forming on his head.

Marco jumped back up. "What was that for, you damn okama?!" He shouted.

"You brute," Izo said while crossing his arms, "how dare you treat sweet Aerie like this?" He helped the girl to her feet, where she promptly hid her face in his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist while he wrapped his around her shoulders. The cross-dresser glared at the Phoenix. "Shame on you."

Now it was Marco's turned to drop his jaw. "'Sweet Aerie'?! 'Shame on me'?! She started it, yoi!"

"You should never argue with a lady. What she says, goes," Izo sniffed. Aerie just wanted to melt into the floor and disappear she was so embarrassed. The two men didn't notice, though; they continued to argue as if she wasn't there.

The three were gradually gaining the attention of the lords and ladies around them. People were stopping their own conversations to watch and listen to the pirates' argument. And Lady Isabella DuBois, the birthday girl, did not appreciate the attention wavering from her person. So she calmly walked over to them, the people instantly clearing a path for her. She stood on front of the pirates, who were completely oblivious to her presence.

Isabella blew out an annoyed sigh and smiled calmly at her guests. "Please pay no mind to them. They are used to a more rowdy atmosphere at parties." The guests nodded and moved away, and Isabella turned back to the pirates, who arguing continued even without their audience. She raised her fists with a smile on her face and said, "Would you three please KNOCK IT OFF!" She hit all three of them with a punch to their skulls, sending them back to the floor.

"What the hell?" Marco muttered nursing a new bump on his head.

"Why did I get hit?" Aerie moaned.

Isabella leaned in close so they could hear her speak. "Listen to me. I will not have you pirates ruin another birthday for me, do you understand? So if you want to argue, take it outside." She straightened up, smoothed her scarlet silk dress, and walked away.

Aerie watched her for a moment before looking at Marco and Izo. "She seems different than before," she noted with a frown. "Sure she hit us, but she wasn't snarky about it."

Izo sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, she does have a reason to be upset with us. She may be a pain, but to be fair, that is partially our fault." Aerie sat silently, waiting for an explanation. "You see, six years ago, Isabella was a fairly agreeable person. This was just after Elizabeth joined the crew and became a nurse. Her and Isabella actually got along rather famously."

Aerie's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

Izo shook his head. "I'm not," he said. "Elizabeth had a bit of a rough time making friends on the crew, so Isabella was really the first friend she had. The two were inseparable."

"So what changed?"

"Andrew died." Confusion was clearly written all over Aerie's face. "Andrew was Isabella's younger brother. She adored her younger brother, who would be your age now. He was smart, strong, handsome, and very intelligent, anything the future governor would need to be.

"Anyway, the last time we came to this island, a similar problem was going on; a gang was rising up and trying to sway the population into overthrowing Sir Charles. Andrew volunteered to help us with our search, and Pops agreed, on the condition he stay with one of us at all times for his protection. He had developed a little crush for our dear Elizabeth, so he stayed with her for most of the time.

"Eventually, we caught word of where the gang's base was, and the leader hid out there for long stretches at a time. We decided to eliminate him in order to stop the rest of the gang. Andrew wanted to come, too, so Pops let him. The base appeared to be empty, like our informant told us it would be.

"It was the perfect trap. Out of nowhere, gang members came and began to attack. We held them off, trying only to injure and not kill them. For the most part, we were doing pretty well. Then, Andrew got hit in the chest. We had warned him to be careful, but he wanted to take on one of the bigger members, to try to impress Elizabeth, I guess. Once he was wounded, he fell to floor and would have been killed if she hadn't stepped in and killed the big man herself.

"She tried her best to save Andrew, but his wound was too severe, and he died in her arms. The governor was grief-stricken but understood that Elizabeth had really done all she could. Isabella never forgave Elizabeth for not being able to save her little brother. The two haven't been able to speak civilly ever since."

Aerie looked over at Isabella as she thought about what Izo had told her. The blonde' shoulders were tense and she wore a forced smile as she talked to a couple of older ladies. "And Eliza's been living with that guilt ever since?" She asked. Izo nodded. "When did he die?"

"Six years ago to the day, yoi," Marco answered, eyes cast down at the floor. "It doesn't excuse her attitude, though, no matter how much she still mourns for her brother."

Aerie hummed in agreement. Marco was right; Isabella should have moved on a long time ago. She stood up, and the two men followed suit. She was about to thank Izo for telling her about Isabella, when her sharp golden eyes saw something unusual: an automaton was making its way through the crowd to where Isabella stood. It reached her and extended an arm and took ahold of her left wrist. She tried to shake it off, while assuring the ladies standing with her that it must be malfunctioning. It's grip didn't slacken, though, and soon it snapped her wrist, the crack audible even where Aerie was standing. Isabella screamed and tried to get the automaton to release her, but it refused to let go. Instead, it twisted her whole arm behind her back, forcing her to her knees. Aerie began to force her way through the crowd, Marco and Izo right on her heels, when the lights turned off, leaving the room in pitch black darkness. People began shouting in confusion, and someone found the switch and turned the lights back on. By then, Isabella and the automaton were gone.

"Excuse me," a voice said, amplified through the room by den-den mushis. Everyone in the room turned to the stage where a man dressed all in black stood. He wore a long duster, a top hat, and on his face was a smooth black mask.

Aerie's eyes widened as she recognized the figure. She wasn't the only one, either. "It's the Machinist!" Someone called out. Another person in the crowd screamed, a bit unnecessarily.

The man continued, not noticing or not caring about the guests' growing panic. "I apologize for interrupting your party, but I'm afraid it couldn't be helped. You see, the final act of my plan takes place tonight."

"What have you done with Isabella?" Sir Charles called out.

The Machinist tilted his head to the side. "She is safe, for now, aside from a broken wrist. However, I cannot guarantee she will remain that way for long. And before you ask Whitebeard, yes I did take the redheaded member of your crew, and yes, she is fine as well. But again, I cannot guarantee she will stay that way if you do not agree to my conditions."

There was silence before Whitebeard broke it from his throne at the opposite end of the room. "And just what exactly are your 'conditions'?" He growled. He looked positively livid.

The Machinist turned his head in the giant's direction. "First, Sir Charles must step down as governor and proclaim me as his successor. Second, you must leave this island forever." There was an uproar in the audience, but the masked man didn't speak again until it was silent. "Those are the only conditions that Lady Isabella and the redhead will be returned safely to you."

A staring contest ensued between the man in black and the captain. Finally, Whitebeard rose to his feet and squared his stance. "I'll agree to your conditions..." The crowd gasped. "...when hell freezes over!" He punched the air, making it shatter in front of him. The shockwave hit the Machinist in the chest and he crumpled to the floor.

Aerie could only gape at the sight of Whitebeard's fury. _So that's the power of the Gura-Gura no Mi*! _She thought. _There's no way anyone could survive that!_

However, the Machinist did survive somehow. The crowd stood, shocked, as he continued talking as if he hadn't been hit in the first place.

"I was afraid of that," he sighed. "Very well; your crew will now suffer the consequences." He went silent, but still lied on the stage. One of the minor crew members climbed up to examine him and cursed when he saw the body. Another person asked what was wrong, and he spat to the side disgustedly.

"It's a bloody automaton," he growled.

Whitebeard sat back down. "Well damn," he said. "Guess that means we'll have to chase after him after all."

"But Pops," Aerie chimed in, "we don't even know where he is. We've searched the entire island!"

"Not the entire island, yoi." Marco said, looking at Sir Charles, who had turned an impressive state of white. "Where's a place big enough to host an army and keep two small women captive?"

Sir Charles looked like he was about to be sick. "I-I suppose he could be in the catacombs," he whispered. "I don't know why I never thought of it before. There are some chambers down there that are certainly big enough..." He trailed off. Every pirate in the room turned to look at Whitebeard, who was frowning at the governor.

"Fine," he said eventually. "Men, split into groups of four and start searching the catacombs. If you come across supporters of the Machinist, try not to kill them, but feel free to destroy all of the machines, if there are any. Bring the Machinist to me, if you can. I want to have a chat with him in person." The crew gave a noise of agreement and began to spilt into teams of four. Whitebeard turned his yellow gaze back to Sir Charles. "How do they get into the catacombs?"

"There are entrances everywhere. Most of them are through the manhole covers in town. There is one that is in my basement, too, through the wine cellar." The governor said, some of his color returning to his cheeks. Whitebeard nodded and relayed the information back to his men and ordered them to each take a different entrance if they could.

Marco nudged Aerie with his elbow. "C'mon, we don't have any time to waste, yoi." He nodded his head in the direction to a set of stairs leading down, hopefully to the cellar.

Aerie was pleasantly surprised and a little honored that Marco wanted her to go with her. "You sure you want me to go with you?"

"Why not, yoi? You're closer to Eliza than any of us, so I figured you wanted to go with us on what could possibly be the most direct route." He said with a shrug.

"'Us'?"

He nodded again to Izo behind her, who had been joined by Thatch. Add him and that made four people in their team. She grinned. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way, Marco."

Marco turned around and walked to the staircase with the three following him. As they walked to the staircase, Aerie noticed something behind one of the tables lined up against the wall. She went closer to inspect it, figuring it must have fallen behind the table earlier in the day, but when she was close enough to see what it actually was, her eyes widened.

"Aerie, are you coming yoi?" Marco's voice carried through the empty ballroom.

"Yeah, sure," she said, grabbing the object and quickly walking to catch up with her friends. Then, together the four went down the stairs to find the cellar, and with it, the entrance to the catacombs.

* * *

**Gura-Gura no Mi = Quake-Quake Fruit**

**Sorry if the ending seems a little lame; I wanted to end it there, but couldn't figure out how to put it into words. **

**What's this? Eliza and Isabella were both captured? This can't possibly be good. And what's with the mystery thing Aerie found? Anyone see where this is going? *raises hand* Guess you'll have to wait to find out. ;)**

**Guys, I'm honestly tickled to death about the 31 favorites, 47 followers, and 23 reviews! You rock, really!**

**Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review if you haven't already please!**

**~Batman**

***Edited as of 8.22.2014***


	11. Chapter 10: Betrayal

**DarkAngelLida: I love Marco too! I've only seen him a couple times in the manga and the anime, but he's still one of my favorite characters. Izo cracks me up; but since I've only seen him once or twice, I've had to pretty much make up his character as I go along. :) I'm glad you like them. Maybe the Machinist did recognize Aerie... Who knows? :) hehe. Yeah, I agree, Isabella does need to get over herself and the death of her brother. Unfortunately, there are people who never move on when someone close to them dies. Thanks so much! You don't know how happy it makes me when people review my story! :}**

**Savage Kill: Hehe, you may or may not be right. ;) Guess you'll find out soon!**

**Ace Portgas D.: Hehe you'll find out who he is soon enough.**

**ZabuzasGirl: SOON!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Hello Hello

Eliza woke up with a sneeze. She seemed to have caught a bit of a cold from being down in the dank catacombs, but that seemed to be the only sort of injury she had sustained, except for a minor ankle sprain from when she fell through the trap door. As she sat up, she was very surprised to hear someone say, "God bless you."

She turned and, in the darkness, she was able to make out a figure huddled up against the wall. Her emerald-green eyes widened a little as she sputtered out, "Isabella, what are ya doin' here?"

Isabella sniffed and turned her head to the side. "The proper response to when someone says 'God bless you' is 'thank you', not 'what are you doing here'."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Thank ya, Isabella. Now, what're ya doin' here?"

"I suspect the same reason you are: as a hostage. If I am here, the Machinist has power over my father. If you are here..." She left the sentence hanging

"So we're at a stalemate with that maniac?"

"As far as I can tell, yes."

Eliza muttered a curse under her breath, for which Isabella sent her a sharp look before drawing her legs closer to her body and wrapping her right arm around them. Eliza's eyes didn't miss this.

"What happened to yer arm?" She asked. Isabella showed her right arm and gave a tight smile. "Not that one, the one yer tryin' to hide behind yer legs."

Isabella stared at Eliza for a moment, trying to decide if she was seriously concerned before pulling her left arm out from between her body and her legs. The wrist was swollen and bruised black and blue from where the automaton had seized her. Eliza kneeled in front of her and gently took Isabella's wrist into her two hands and poked it with her finger, making the older woman suck in a breath from pain.

"Stop that, it hurts!" Isabella said jerking her wrist back, making her gasp in pain again. "It's broken, can you not see that? I thought you were a nurse."

What Eliza wanted to say was, Any idiot going in to medical school could see it's broken, you ninny, but what she actually said was, "Well, since it's broken I'll need to immobilize it with a sling." Without hesitation, she reached for Isabella's dress and began to rip it along the hem.

"What do you think you're doing?" Isabella shrieked and jerked her dress back closer to her.

It took all of Eliza's patience not to reach out and throttle the rich brat. Instead, she gave an annoyed sigh and said, "Silk is a very strong fabric, and right now, I'm not seeing anything better to make a sling with. So if ya want to act like a snot and let yer wrist set improperly, fine by me." The two glared at each other until Isabella reluctantly released her hold on her dress to allow Eliza to tear two long strips from it.

The first strip was used to bind Isabella's wrist. Eliza wrapped it and her hand tightly to prevent it from moving too much. The second strip she used to make a sling to wrap around the arm and her neck. This immobilized Isabella's elbow as well as her wrist. It was the best Eliza could do without my proper cast-making materials, and it wasn't that bad of a job, if she could say so herself. Once finished, she sat down against the wall adjacent to Isabella.

There was a bit of a silence before Isabella said, "Thank you, Elizabeth. Truly."

Eliza smiled to herself. "Yer welcome, Isabella." The two sat in silence again, but this was a more comfortable silence. Finally, Eliza asked, "Just outta curiosity, how did ya break yer wrist, lass?"

"I did not break it; an automaton did. It seems our mutual friend the Machinist managed to reprogram them at the party. That or he was the one who built them in the first place. I did warn Daddy that using machines would be unwise, seeing as the man is named the Machinist, but he waved me off! Can you believe that?" Isabella's tone became more and more irritated as she talked, but she backed off when she realized whom she was talking to. "Apologies; I did not mean to go off on you like that."

"It's fine, lass. I understand bein' frustrated with yer family. Take Thatch, for instance. He insists on pushin' every last one of my buttons every day until I want to strangle him on the spot. But at the end of each day, I still love him like he is my real brother."

Isabella chuckled, to Eliza's surprise. "Indeed." She leaned back against the wall. "What are we doing, Elizabeth?"

"Waitin' around for my family to come save our sorry behinds."

"You know what I mean."

Eliza sighed. "Don't know, to be honest. Seems to me like we're friends again, doesn't it?"

"I suppose so. It is nice, is it not?"

"Yeah, it feels good."

Isabella smiled and turned her head to look out into the chamber outside their cell. "Do you really think they are coming?"

Eliza didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "Of course they are," she said determinedly. "Pops wouldn't stand for someone to take one of his children, or one of his allies. I would bet the Machinist has pissed him off to the point where he's sent the whole crew to look for him and us. They'll be here, don't you worry."

~...~

Just like Sir Charles had said, the entrance to the catacombs was in his wine cellar. The stone door was pretty well hidden behind a rack of expensive-looking wines, which Marco promptly knocked over to get to it. Every bottle smashed against the wooden floor of the cellar, spilling wine all over the place.

Aerie rolled her eyes and asked, "Was that really necessary? What is the governor going to do now that you've ruined his wine and his cellar?"

All three men turned to her and deadpanned as one, "He'll be fine." They turned their attention back to the door and worked on getting the heavy stone thing to open.

Aerie looked down at her hands, in which she held the thing she found under the table in the ballroom earlier. If she was right, the presence of this object signified the governor wasn't as innocent in this whole affair as he seemed to be. She hadn't told the others of her theory yet, as she could still be wrong, and she reckoned making accusations against the Governor of Steamworks wouldn't be a wise choice.

The girl was pulled from her musings by the sound of the stone door being opened. She quickly hid the object behind a barrel of wine before the others saw it, making a mental note to grab it when they came back through the cellar.

Meanwhile, Thatch and Marco were discussing who should be the first to go through the door, which had opened to reveal a dirt passageway leading down into the darkness. Naturally, both men wanted to lead the way, and the passage would only allow a single-file line.

"I'm the First Division commander, so I should lead the way, yoi." Marco argued.

"No way, I should! I'm way stronger than you are, so I should lead!" Thatch said.

"Can you make a fire to light the way? 'Cause I can."

"I don't need a light to see ahead of me, unlike you, bird-brain."

"Maybe not, but the others do!"

"Enough!" Aerie said, punching them both on the arm. "We don't have time to argue about this!"

"She's right," Izo said. "Every second we wait is another second the Machinist has the advantage over us."

"Sorry, it's his fault," Marco and Thatch muttered at the same time while pointing at each other.

Aerie ran a hand through her hair while looking down at the entrance. "Alright, listen up. Marco's gonna lead because he can make a fire to see. He also can't be killed by a bullet if he's shot by any goon working for the Machinist. After him, Izo will go, then Thatch, then me. Let's get moving before anyone dies." Her tone left no room for argument, so Marco jumped through the doorway, followed by Izo, then Thatch, who helped Aerie down by taking her hand. Marco turned one of his hands into fire and began walking down the dirt hallway.

The further down the four went, the colder the air became until Aerie was shivering slightly. Eventually, the dirt turned to stone along the walls and on the floor. The passage also widened slightly, but not enough for them to walk side-by-side.

After a while, Marco announced, "There's an opening up ahead, yoi! I think it might be a chamber!"

Sure enough, the tunnel opened up into a large brightly-lit chamber. Unfortunately, about two dozen men wearing crimson knee-length jackets embroidered with small golden gears over their hearts. They were all facing the doorway the Whitebeard Pirates had just come through and were drawing their weapons as one of them stepped forward.

"Sorry mates," he grinned, not looking sorry in the least, "but we've got orders to not let anyone past this point."

"Quite all right," Marco shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Guess we'll be fighting you, then." He turned into fire; Thatch unsheathed his sword; Izo drew his pistols from within his kimono; and Aerie raised her fists.

Together, the four easily defeated all twenty-four of the Machinist's men in a matter of minutes. Even in her annoyingly long skirt, Aerie managed to knock out at least five of the guys. When she was finished, Thatch was staring at her in amazement.

"How do you fight in that thing?" He asked, pointing at her skirt with his sword. Aerie shrugged and looked around until she found the smallest man in the room. When she did, she crouched in front of him and began removing him of his tight-fitting pants and his jacket. She took his belt, his sword, and his pistol as well. Having obtained these objects, she turned to see the three men staring at her oddly.

Aerie rolled her eyes and twirled her finger, motioning for the men to turn around. Fortunately, Izo understood what is was she wanted, so he forcefully spun Marco and Thatch around to give Aerie privacy while she changed. She quickly took off her skirt and replaced it with the stolen pants, tucking her shirt into the waist and the legs into the boots. She then fastened the belt and sword around her hips. After that, on went the jacket over her blouse and she was instantly graced with the warmth it gave. Once she gave them the signal they could turn around, they did so slowly.

Marco raised an eyebrow at the half-naked man lying on the floor. "What about him, yoi? What if he gets hypothermia?"

"He'll be fine," Aerie deadpanned, borrowing his words from earlier. Marco sighed and shook his head.

"Uh, guys?" Thatch said uncertainly. "We have a problem."

Sure enough, there was a problem. The chamber had two tunnels leading out of it, three counting the one the four pirates had just come through. So now they faced a problem: which tunnel do they take?

Aerie ran a hand through her hair. "Shoot," she muttered. "We don't have time to go down both of them!"

"Aerie's right," Izo added. "Right now, we don't have much time at all on our hands."

"It's simple then; we need to split up, yoi." Marco turned around to look at them. "Aerie, you go with Thatch; Izo, you come with me. We'll take the tunnel on the left. Let's get moving!" He and Izo took off running through the tunnel on the left, leaving Aerie and Thatch to do the same with the tunnel on the right. Aerie could only hope that either one of the tunnels in the chamber would bring their group closer to Eliza and Isabella rather than farther away.

~...~

The tunnel Marco and Izo took was wide enough for the pair to run side-by-side. Marco lit one of his arms on fire to provide a bit of light for them to see. The pathway began to lead down suddenly, but it didn't cause either man to break his stride. They ran in silence, the only sound being their feet hitting the stones beneath them. The tunnel led further and further down underground, until eventually they came to another doorway into another chamber.

Neither man stopped running until he was in the center of the chamber, which was considerably larger than the last one. On one side of the room sat a large pile of metal, and on a pedestal on the other side of the room sat a surveillance den-den mushi, probably to monitor whoever came into the chamber. As if on cue, the door they came through slammed down and sealed. Marco lazily looked over his shoulder while Izo pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Cliche," he muttered.

"I guess we should've expected that, yoi," Marco sighed.

Just then, the large pile of metal began to rise up off of the floor, revealing itself to be a large machine. It looked to be as tall as Whitebeard himself, and could likely squish Marco and Izo in a second if they weren't careful. Besides its height, the machine was also wide and had very long arms and short legs. The thing whirred and groaned and blew out steam whenever it moved. Gears and pistons could clearly be seen in its stomach and along its arms. If Marco had to guess, he would say the thing was there to trap and kill anyone who came through the room. He was glad it was him and Izo who found it, and not some of the newer members who could hardly handle the average mountain bandit.

The machine turned its body in their direction. Izo pulled the hammers back on his pistols and Marco turned both of his fists into flames. For a single, tense moment, neither opponent moved; then, everything moved at once.

The thing swung its arm and hit the ground where the two commander stood seconds ago. They leapt in opposite directions, narrowly missing the arm of the machine as it swung at them again. Izo tried shooting its arms, but it did almost nothing to slow it down. Marco punched it in the chest, only to fall to the ground himself from a sudden dizzy spell.

"Damn it all," he growled. "This thing is made of kairoseki metal!" He was almost crushed by the machine stomping its foot, but he managed to roll out of the way in time.

"Great, so at least we know your powers alone won't work," said Izo as he shot at it again, this time knocking off a metal plate on its arm.

"Good thing I can fight without my powers." Marco jumped off the ground to deliver a kick to the machine's midsection, this time making the thing stumble back a few steps. As it righted itself, a puff of steam came out of the exposed gears and pistons. Izo fired one of his pistols again, hitting it right in the crook of its elbow. It tried to lift its arm to swing at it again, but the lower part of the arm wouldn't move correctly.

Marco got an idea from this. "Aim for the joints, yoi! If we can disable its limbs we can finish it off quicker!" Izo nodded and got to work at aiming for the joints of the machine. He was able to hit it's left knee before it swung again with its other arm. Marco, however, was not so lucky. He was hit in the stomach as the machine swung around for Izo. He grunted as he flew through the air and hit his back on the wall behind him.

"Are you alright?" The geisha asked, glancing at his companion. Marco stood up and wiped the blood off his mouth.

"Peachy," he grunted. The machine lifted its one working arm at him as he started to get up, and a sound not unlike a fuse being lit was heard. Marco's eyes widened as he realized too late what it was doing. "Sh-" he began to say, but he was cut off by the machine firing a cannon ball point-blank at him.

"Marco!"

~...~

Thatch and Aerie were having much better luck with their tunnel, in the aspect they had yet to run into a cannon-launching hunk of metal. Theirs did, however, lead to another chamber like their crew member's had. Unlike their crew mates, the doorway did not seal once they had passed through it, and their chamber had two other tunnels leading out from it. Both pirates stood looking at the two doorways before nodding to each other, silently agreeing on a course of action. They each ran down a separate tunnel, both hoping to be nearing their goal.

~...~

Aerie's tunnel was made of stone, which made it really easy for anyone else in the vicinity to hear her footsteps. She felt like she was exposed with the heels of her boots clicking on the cobblestone, and even considered taking the footwear off. Deciding this was a good idea, she paused her running to remove the boots from her feet. She then carried them in one hand and continued running down the tunnel in her socks. Now her footsteps were silent as she made her way further and further from the last chamber.

Aerie rounded a corner and to her slight annoyance, there was another doorway leading in to another chamber. However, she had an odd feeling in her gut about this chamber, so she slowed to a walk and slid along the wall until she was at the entrance. Once there, she cautiously looked into the somewhat cavernous chamber.

All around the walls of this particular chambers were barred cells, stacked on top of each other to make a two-story prison of sorts. If Aerie had to guess, she would say this was the old jail on the island before Whitebeard stepped in. Looking around some more, she saw the cell directly across the room was occupied by two young women having a conversation. A grin came to her face as she recognized the bright red hair on one of the women. She put her boots back on and ran into the chamber, calling out, "Eliza!"

Eliza whipped her head in Aerie's direction and a matching grin came to her face. "Aerie!" She said delightedly as she rose to her feet to hug her friend through the bars of the cell. "Ah, it's good to see ya, lass!"

"Good to see you, too, Eliza." Aerie looked in the cell and her smile waned a bit when she saw the cell's other resident. "And Isabella too."

"Don't forget me!" Aerie looked up to see Thatch in the cell right above Eliza's. Her eyes bugged out of her head comically at the sight of his familiar grinning face.

"Thatch?! What are you doing up there?" Aerie asked.

"Well," he scratched his head sheepishly. "I was running in the tunnel, right? So, I came to this dead end. Turns out, there was a secret door that led into this cell. It closed behind me and I do to know how to open it from this side. Also, the cell's got a lock on it."

"Aye, ours does too," Eliza nodded.

"Miss Aerie," Isabella said, standing up, "I would suggest you find the key to the cells so that we may-LOOK OUT!" This warning came not a moment too soon, because as soon as it left Isabella's mouth, Aerie crouched to avoid a sword swinging through the air towards her head. It clanged against the steel bars of the cell as she looked to up to see her attacker. Her golden eyes widened as a curse slipped from between her lips.

The Machinist looked down at her from behind his smooth black mask. He raised the sword to swing again, which Aerie rolled out of the way to avoid. He straightened up and turned his head to look at her. She stood up and drew her own sword.

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "My, my, little bird. Didn't I tell you to stay inside once the storm hit?"

Aerie shrugged. "Sorry, I'm not really good at following orders. Ask Marco." She rushed forward and their swords clashed. They exchanged a few more blows before they were both forced backwards. He wiggled off his long duster and threw it to the side.

"Speaking of the Phoenix, where is he? I anticipated him coming down to this room, not you." The Machinist spoke as though he wasn't fazed in the least by her presence.

Another shrug. "Beats me. He and Izo went one way, Thatch and I went the other. What's it to you?" He moved this time, causing her to parry his thrust and be on the defensive.

"It matters not. Besides, your company is much more pleasurable." Their blades were locked now, both exerting the same amount of force of their blades and neither backing down. "I must say, you do look rather dashing in one of my uniforms, miss."

Aerie gritted her teeth. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, creep. Either way, you're still coming with us."

"Hmm, I do not think I will. Thank you for the offer, however."

"It wasn't an option." Aerie pushed with all the strength she had, making the Machinist lose his footing. He stumbled backwards, giving Aerie the perfect opportunity to strike again. He barely had enough time to block her swing before she lopped his head off. More strikes were exchanged, and for a few moments, the only sounds in the room were the clangs of metal on metal.

For a while, it appeared as though Aerie would win their duel, even with her limited skills on the sword. However, the Machinist soon gained the advantage when Aerie lost her footing on a loose stone. He knocked her sword out of her hand, leaving her to dodge his blows as best as she could. One swipe, however caught her on the side, just below the ribs, causing Eliza and Thatch to call her name in alarm. From there, he kicked her in the stomach and pinned her to the ground with his foot.

The Machinist laughed and pointed his sword at her throat. "A pity, Tanaka Aerie. You were a worthy opponent. But now," he lowered the blade slightly, "you will die."

Aerie pulled out the last weapon she had: the stolen pistol. She pointed it at his face, making him laugh again. "Oh, you must be desperate. But do you think you can kill me before I stab your throat?"

"Do you think you can kill me before I pull the trigger?" She asked as she pulled the hammer back with her thumb. He tilted his head to the side as he considered this. Aerie looked over at Eliza's cell, the redhead having gone a pale white as she looked on in horror thinking Aerie was about to be impaled with a sword. Aerie smiled at her friend. "Hey, Eliza," she said calmly. "I don't think I can beat this guy by myself. So," she rotated her arm so the gun was pointing at the Irish woman, "how about you help me out, here?" Before Eliza could reply, Aerie fired the pistol.

The Machinist whipped his head to see what she shot at. This proved to be a mistake, as his distraction gave Aerie enough time to strike his knee with the butt of the pistol. He crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain, and Aerie sprang to her feet again. She kicked his chest with one foot and spun around in midair to kick his face with the other, sending his black mask clattering to the floor.

There was a collective gasp from all of the room's inhabitants as they recognized the now-revealed face. Thatch and Aerie called out a disbelieving "Lewis?!" at the same time Eliza and Isabella said, "Andrew?!"

Lewis, or Andrew, stood up and rubbed his jaw. "Nice kick," he said. "You've got quite the leg there."

Aerie was shocked into silence. Thatch, as usual, was not. "Wait, did you two say Andrew? As in Andrew DuBois? I thought he was dead!"

"He was," whispered Eliza. She pointed a shaky finger at Andrew, who looked bored. "You died. I watched you die. I held you as you died." She looked back at Isabella. "Did you know about this?" Isabella shook her head, eyes wide as she looked at her younger brother for the first time in six years.

Andrew smirked wickedly. "I know, dear Elizabeth. I had to make it look convincing, didn't I? After all," he took off his hat and tossed it to the side, "I couldn't be staging a revolution as Andrew, could I? No, so I had to die, and the Machinist was born."

"That's impossible," Eliza shook her head, "ya couldn't have lived. Yer heart stopped beatin' and ya weren't breathin' at all."

"Rhododendron plants can be used as an effective poison. When taken in the right amount, the heart beat slows to about one beat for minute, and breathing slows as well."

Wait, so you're telling me you've been planning this since you were fourteen?" Thatch asked from his cell.

Andrew looked up at him. "Yes I have. I'm tired of the way my father runs this island and I'm tired of Whitebeard. I have thought out everything completely, from my supposed death to my final takeover of the island. The only thing I did not anticipate was the appearance of the Dodger at the rally." He frowned, and then he shrugged. "Not that it matters. He ran away, and the only loose ends I have are you four."

Aerie was silent, fists clenched at her side. Something about Andrew's story didn't quite add up to her, but she pushed that thought aside for now. What was currently occupying her thoughts was the fact she had been lied to and manipulated to believe Lewis was a good person. If there was anything Aerie hated, it was being manipulated. She lowered her head so her bangs shadowed her eyes as she shook with anger.

"So," she said conversationally. Everyone in the chamber turned to look at her. "I guess that means you're going to kill us now, right?"

He shrugged, looking bored. "Not really. I will give you the chance to join me, Aerie. What do you say to you and I ruling this island? We can kill these three and carry out the rest of the plan together." He held out his hand for her to take and adopted a small smile. "Please, Aerie?"

Aerie tsked and shook her head. "And what do you plan to do once Whitebeard finds out you have killed two of his own and one of his allies?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Please, Aerie?"

There was silence. Thatch, for once, didn't break it, wanting to hear Aerie's answer, as did Eliza and Isabella. They were shocked when Aerie started chuckling, then full-out laughing.

"Boy, you're dumber than you look," she said raising her head to meet his eyes. "What kind of person do you think I am, betraying my friends, my family? For _you_? I don't think so, Andrew. Never again. My days of leaving my family are over." He frowned and lowered his hand.

"Very well," he sighed, "I will have to kill you, then."

"I don't think so. The only one with the remote possibility of being killed tonight is you. Eliza!" The redheaded nurse turned to look at her from behind the Machinist's back. "What do you say we hurry up and finish this here and get this guy to Pops?"

Eliza grinned and kicked open her cell door. Andrew quickly turned around to see how she escaped, which soon became clear; the padlock had been shot clean through earlier, making it useless against the former assassin. "Aye, sounds like a plan." She sprang out of the cell to launch herself at the supposedly-dead boy. The two engaged in hand-to-hand combat while Aerie lifted the pistol and shot the lock on Thatch's cell. Cheering, he too joined the fight against Andrew.

The Machinist might have been a match for Aerie, but not for two pirates who were far better trained than she was when it came to fighting. Within moments he was lying on his back on the floor, pinned there by Thatch's shoe, much like Aerie had been minutes before.

"Fools," he spat, "my army will avenge me if I am killed. I have almost the entire island under my control, and they are loyal only to me."

Thatch leaned over. "Who said anything about us killing you? Pops wants to talk to you before we do anything, so you're coming with us now."

His eyes widened slightly. "You cannot do this to me-"

"Actually, yes they can." This was Isabella, calmly walking across the chamber to where the pirates surrounded her brother. Even with her torn dress, broken wrist in a sling, messy hair, and dirty face, she still carried the air of a true lady.

"Tch. Under who's authority?"

Isabella tilted her head to the side. "Mine, of course. These people are doing what is best for Steamworks, and I support their decision as to what to do with you, whatever it may be." She looked up at Eliza, and a an expression of remorse came to her face. "I am truly sorry, Elizabeth. It was wrong to blame you for so long for something that was a complete ruse in the end. I hope you can forgive me."

"Eh, why not? Let's just leave it in the past." Eliza said with a shrug. Isabella smiled and nodded.

"Okay, so now that's settled," Aerie said. "What should we do with him for now? I get the feeling he wasn't acting alone, but before we figure that out we can't have him running off."

"Simple." Thatch took the pistol from Aerie's hand and hit Andrew over the head with the butt, knocking him out. He picked up his limp body and slung it over one shoulder and gestured for Aerie to lead them back down the tunnel. She shook her head, smiled, then began walking through the doorway.

It didn't take them long to reach the chamber she and Thatch had been in back at the beginning of their search, but once they got there, they were met with an unusual sight. Marco and Izo were standing with cross expressions, both covered from head to toe in machine oil. The Phoenix looked up when he heard them enter the room, and scowled even more when he saw Aerie trying to hide her laughter.

"What's so funny, yoi?" He snapped.

"Sorry," she replied, not meaning it in the least. "What happened to you guys?"

"We got into a fight with a machine, when Izo," he sent a pointed glare in the okama's direction, "decided it would be a great idea to blow the thing up."

Izo sniffed. "It was that or let you be killed by it, Marco."

"I could have healed myself, even if the cannon ball hit me!"

Thatch stepped in before anything became violent between the two commanders. "Oi, oi, that's enough you two. We've got a situation right here."

"That's right," Aerie nodded. "Fortunately, we were actually productive in our search." She gestured in the direction of the body slung over Thatch's shoulder.

Izo's eyes widened. "Is that who I think it is?" He asked.

"Aye," Eliza answered. "It is. And Aerie thinks he wasn't working alone either. I tend to agree with her. Because he," she nodded at Andrew, "claims to have been planning this for over six years. That would have made him a masked vigilante at fourteen."

Marco looked at Aerie. "Do you have any evidence to support that, yoi?"

"I have some. But we're going to have to do this carefully. We don't need them running and hiding." She looked around at her friends. "So here's what we need to do..."

~...~

Sir Charles DuBois stood in the ballroom wringing his hands in anxiety. Whitebeard was there too, but the larger man sat calmly in an enormous chair, drinking sake.

"What if they don't find her? Or they get lost in the catacombs? Or the Machinist and his men kill them all? Or-"

"Relax, Charlie!" Whitebeard boomed, startling the average-sized man. "Have some faith in my family!"

The Governor of Steamworks wiped the layer of sweat that had formed on his brow. He gave a nervous smile. "Of course, my apologies, Captain. I only meant that-" He was cut off again by the arrival of Marco's team of pirates, along with Eliza and Isabella.

"Hey, Pops!" Marco called out, jogging ahead of the group to reach their captain first. "We found Eliza and Isabella, yoi. We got the Machinist, too."

Izo huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't act like you did the work, Marco. You were pinned to the wall by a machine about to blow your bloody head off."

"He's got a point, lad. Once again, Aerie was the one who did the actual work," Eliza chimed in.

Marco closed his eyes in irritation and he sighed through his nose. Sir Charles had rushed to his daughter and embraced her. She made a sound of pain and Eliza turned her attention back to the blonde. "Hey, old man, watch it. She's got a broken wrist I didn't have the materials to make a splint for."

Charles released his daughter, but held her at arm's distance. He put a hand to her face and smiled with relief. "Isabella, thank the heavens you're-"

He was cut off for the third time by Aerie. "She's not the only thing we found, Charles." She pulled out the object found in the ballroom earlier and tossed it to the governor, who barely managed to catch it. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise as he looked at the thing in his hand.

Whitebeard leaned forward to peer at the object. "Eh, what's that, Aerie?"

The thing she had found was a white cap with the word "Marine" printed across the top in blue letters. Whitebeard frowned and sat back in his chair.

"That's not all, Pops." Thatch lifted the still-unconscious body of Andrew from his shoulder and set him on the floor not-so-gently. Whitebeard raised an eyebrow and looked back at Sir Charles.

"What's the meaning of this, Charlie?" He rumbled, giving the man a firm glare.

Sir Charles gave a nervous laugh and began wringing his hands again. "Honestly, Captain, I do not know what's going on here."

"I can tell you," Aerie said, walking forward. "Andrew was a puppet. A diversion. He's not the real person behind all this, Charles." She stared him down, golden gaze not breaking from a nervous, blue one.

"You are."

Charles gave another shaky laugh. "I am sure you are mistaken, Miss Aerie."

"Pretty sure she's not, man," Thatch said nudging the body of Andrew with his foot. "He's your son, right? If my math's correct-"

"Which would be surprising," muttered Izo.

"-then he would have had to been planning this whole thing at fourteen, maybe younger. To me, that's a bit ridiculous."

"Thatch is right," Eliza added. "Andrew was always bright, but he wasn't bright enough to make a plan to take out an Emperor."

"You've also been talking to the Marines," Marco crossed his arms. "Probably arranged some sort of deal along the lines of 'I'll bring them in, you take them out'."

"Why I would never-"

"Yes you would, father." Isabella jumped in, blue eyes shining defiantly. The pirates looked at her in surprise. The plan included them accusing Charles until he confessed, but her interjection was not. They had hoped he would be weak-willed enough to break earlier, but when he didn't, they kept adding more and more to the accusation. (It should be noted their accusation was made purely of Aerie's best guesses along with Marco and Thatch's quick thinking.)

"You told me just the other day none of the gang uprisings would have ever happened if Whitebeard had never come in the first place." She stepped forward now, ignoring the concerned glances of the pirates aimed at her. "I overheard you talking to one of the officers too. You arranged for them to be here in the morning, if I am not mistaken. You and Andrew," she cast a disgusted glance at her sleeping brother, "have been behind this the whole time."

Charles had gone white with shock. Whitebeard was silent too, but his was an intimidating silence fueled by anger. Eventually, he stood up, easily towering over everyone in the room by a good ten feet.

"Well then, Charlie," he growled, "I guess we know what we have to do now, don't we?"

~...~

"And you are sure you have everything for your journey?"

"Yes, Isabella," Eliza said. "You've already filled our storerooms enough for ten journeys."

The older woman smiled. "I can never be too sure, can I? It's the least I could do since you and your family helped our island so much."

"Think nothin' of it, lass! Anything for one of our own!" Eliza laughed and grinned wryly up at her friend. Isabella said nothing but moved forward and embraced her. It was the day after Isabella's birthday party fiasco, and the pirates were getting ready to ship off.

Thatch and Izo observed the two women on the docks from the deck of the ship, each with a smile of their own.

"I'm glad everything worked out alright between the two of them," Izo said. "It's been a long time since they talked to each other like that."

"Yeah," agreed Thatch. "I'm happy for the island too. With Charles gone, it seems things are looking up here."

"Indeed. I think Isabella will make a better Governess than Charles did."

"I think she's just happy she doesn't have to look for an arranged marriage now." Thatch grinned down at her when she looked up at the ship.

Izo hit him on the head. "Idiot! She has way more things to be happy about than just that!"

"Ow! Hey, I'm just sayin'!"

The two bickered some more before giving it a rest for once. Eliza came back on board the ship and they began to leave the port, everyone crowding to the railing to wave goodbye to Isabella. Aerie stood off to the side, frowning at the horizon. She was thinking about something Isabella had told her just before she got on the ship.

_"Say, Isabella, you wouldn't happen to know the name of that Marine contact your father had, would you?"_

_Isabella frowned. "No, I do not believe I do." Aerie was about to thank her anyway, when she exclaimed, "Oh, wait, yes I do! Oh, blast it all, what was his name?" She put a hand to her forehead to try to think. "He was a vice admiral...Kobe! Yes, that was it, Tanaka Kobe, along with that blonde boy who bore a resemblance to Andrew. Does that help you, Aerie?"_

Aerie's frowned deepened. Whitebeard had decided they should leave early enough to beat the Marines that were on the way, but that didn't ease her worries any. Once they left, Isabella would have to deal with Aerie's father, and this unsettled the Golden Eagle. She never tried to get on her father's bad side when she was younger, but she knew what happened to those who did.

She was pulled from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. It was Marco, lazily smiling down at her.

"She'll be fine, yoi." He assured her. Aerie had told him what Isabella had told her, but she hadn't included the part about being worried. "If there's anything she's good at, it's talking. Isabella could probably talk her way into being let into Impel Down if she wanted."

Aerie returned the smile. She was (for once) glad Marco was there to reassure her unsettled spirits. "Thanks, Marco."

A gleam came into Marco's eyes as he leaned over her. "You know," he mused leaning in further, "I don't think you're supposed to be out here right now."

Confusion filled Aerie's head as she asked what he meant. She didn't particularly like that look he had, and as he kept leaning forward, she kept leaning back.

His voice dropped into a whisper as he was finally able to reach her ear. "You're supposed to be in the training room, yoi. I think since you're late we'll have to go extra late tonight, maybe even miss dinner."

Aerie snapped out of her momentary daze. She forcefully pushed him back and glared at him. "Is that the only thing you're worried about, you stupid pigeon?" She all but shouted at him. "Last night, I had to run through cold tunnels, chase down a madman, fight said madman, and had to deal with an injury on top of that! Meanwhile you and Izo were playing around with a robot! Sounds to me you're the one who needs training, _commander_!"

He laughed and leaned back. "Maybe so. But you're still weaker than I am, so you're the one who's going to be doing any training tonight." He turned around and began walking in the direction of the training room at the stern of the ship. "Come on, yoi! The longer you protest, the longer we go!"

Aerie groaned, but followed him all the same. For some reason, she knew he was serious about her needing to be trained, but he also wanted to distract her from thinking about her father. This brought a small smile to her face, and she walked behind him with more enthusiasm and a bit more respect for the commander of the First Division.

* * *

**So sorry for the lack of updates! I hope you'll forgive me because I made this chapter about 2,000 words longer than the rest. I've been super busy trying to get used to my schedule with school and work. I'm beginning to think I need to set an exact date for updating, and I think Sundays would work best. So look for a new chapter next Sunday or earlier!**

**MAJOR PLOT TWIST! Did anyone predict who the Machinist was? Hehe, originally he was someone else entirely, but I decided to add a little drama. **

**Ehhhhh, honestly, I didn't like this chapter. :/ I felt it was kind of rushed, but I wanted them to leave Steamworks. Let me know what you think in the reviews! Favorite and follow as well please!**

**One more thing: I have gone back and edited and rewritten all of the other chapters. There are several differences, the biggest one, I think, being Aerie's backstory, which I wrote in third person instead of first. I also added another scene from her past back in Chapter One, and I changed her meeting with Carlyle as well. Check it out, please!**

**Later!**

**~Batman**


	12. Chapter 11: Never Smile at a Crocodile

**Nurofen: Thanks so much! I'm glad I was able to surprise you haha. I was worried I was being too predictable :)**

**Ace Portgas D.: Haha your comment cracked me up! XD Glad to hear you still like the story!**

**DarkAngelLida: Thank you very much! I'm happy to hear I was able to keep you guessing the Machinist's identity until the end, as I was worried about being too predictable. You're right, it was a d**k move on Charles' part, but he needed a plan, and I needed a villain. Not many people actually saw the governor's kids, so that explains why Lewis was able to blend into the crowd easier. Now that I think about it, I wonder what will happen to his sandwich stand...?**

**I think we can honestly say Aerie is not as impressed with her relationship with Marco as you are ;). I like those nicknames, too, so I might just start using them. As for their relationship progressing from overbearing commander and disobedient subordinate...you'll just have to wait and see!**

**Savage Kill: Sounds like a great idea! I've got big plans for the next chapter, but I might just add those in ;)**

**Guest: Glad to see I was able to surprise you! Thanks very much!**

**OnePieceDoesExist: I will, thanks!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Never Smile at a Crocodile

Captain Carlyle sat in his dimly-lit office poring over the newspapers from the past couple of weeks. Stacks of the resources were strewn about the small room, taking up as much floor space as they did the space on his desk. He had been in this room for hours each day, looking for the same thing in the papers: news on the whereabouts of "Golden Eagle" Tanaka Aerie and the Artful Dodger. Once or twice, Vice Admiral Kobe had ordered him to leave to capture pirates causing trouble on nearby islands, but he had done so reluctantly. He didn't want to leave the confines of his office, in fear of missing something important that could lead him to the capture of one of the criminals, or even both.

In short, the only emotion occupying Carlyle's mind was obsession. He hadn't slept right in weeks and he looked like a mess; his blonde hair was slightly greasy; he hadn't shaven in a while, so there was a fine line of stubble on his jaw; his royal blue shirt was crumpled and the top three buttons were undone; and this was the third day in a row he had worn this particular pair of pants. His aqua tie hung loosely from around his neck while his white vest merely hung from the coatrack beside the door. Under his eyes were dark blue circles, and his skin was a pale color most medical experts would consider being unhealthy.

He leaned back into his chair with a sigh and ran a hand through his already messy hair. He dropped the paper he had been reading onto his desk and rubbed his eyes with both hands. How long had it been since he had left the room? He didn't know; he only left when he was summoned by the vice admiral or kicked out by the janitors at night when they cleaned. The blinds had been drawn on the windows, blocking his view of the sun's position in the sky.

If he had to be honest with himself, Carlyle had mixed feelings about his assignment to capture Aerie. On one hand, she was the only friend he had as a child, and he knew it was the same for her. On the other hand, she had forgotten about him and then proceeded to rough him up as if they weren't ever friends. A wave of depression hit the captain, and he slumped forward with his elbows on his knees. After everything they did together, she had just forgotten about the timid boy she found lost in the forest on Jaaku?

Carlyle couldn't help but admire Aerie, though. After witnessing the execution of the pirate's son (which Kobe refused to talk about, even to this day), she decided to not enlist in the Marines and set out on her own. Her ability to adapt and change to whatever circumstances surrounded her had always impressed Carlyle, and always would. It was a quality most Marine officers had, and something Kobe had been proud to see in his daughter. She also had her subtle charms, such as her wit, her smooth words, and those pretty gold eyes burning with fiery determination he had so often gazed into...

Carlyle's head snapped up and his train of thought came to an abrupt halt. He mentally chastised himself for thinking those thoughts. He shouldn't see Aerie like that now. He was a professional, and professionals didn't have fuzzy feelings for their enemies.

Truthfully, he seen his childhood friend in a different light for a long time. He had done his best to impress her when they trained together, but she always waved him off. She had even told him once she suspected she would never fall in love or get married because it had the potential of interfering with her desire to be a Marine. It didn't stop him from admiring her, though; he was just more subtle about it. No matter what he did to get her attention, she always had her head turned towards her ultimate goal of surpassing her father in military rank.

Everything changed when she left. Carlyle could remember walking up to her house the morning after she flew away. He had walked through the front door, which Kobe had told him would always be open, and saw the then-Captain Tanaka slumped at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. He knew something was wrong before he even asked. The words his mentor said next flipped his whole world upside down: _Aerie is gone._ Aerie never ran away, not in the time Carlyle had known her. She had been the one to turn around and face her foes head-on without fear while he had been the one to stand on the sidelines and watch. Either way, she was gone, and she had left him alone.

Life was different without her leading him along. Now he had to do everything by himself, including enlisting in the Marines, one of the early promises he had made to the girl. He was horribly lonely, even with Kobe there as his personal trainer and friend. None of the other enlistees had been very friendly to him, and he often ate and trained alone in the designated areas of the base. Things had gotten better after he had eaten his Devil Fruit, but he felt lonely and depressed most of the time as a trainee.

Carlyle had often wondered what life would be like had Aerie stayed and joined with him, and he pondered this now. Would they have advance through the ranks at the same pace, or would she surpass him, just like she did as a child? Would she have been awarded multiple times for her bravery and courage, like her father? Would she have wanted to see the world or would she want to have an office job? Perhaps she might even be with him now, trying to track down notorious criminals, and the only crime she would be committing would be her lack of obedience for persons in superior positions.

_Knock it off_, he berated himself. _There's no changing the past, so stop thinking about it, you idiot!_ Despite these self-given orders, he couldn't help but let his mind wander once again to the daughter of his superior.

A firm knock came at the door, pulling him from his musings. He sat up and straightened his shirt and smoothed his hair while at the same time calling to the one at the door, "Come in!"

Vice Admiral Tanaka Kobe entered the room and closed the door behind him. His dark eyes scanned the room, silently taking in the heaps of newspapers scattered about the floor. The corners of his lips lifted in a small smile as he shook his head.

"You know," he began as Carlyle scrambled to his feet, "when I tasked you with the capture of Aerie and the Artful Dodger, I did not mean for you to go quite this far, Captain." His tone was serious, but his smile and his eyes told the younger man he was joking. Carlyle gave a nervous smile and the vice admiral motioned for him to sit down. Tanaka chose the seat in front of the desks, first removing the stack of newspaper from it.

"What can I say, sir? I like to be thorough and precise when given an assignment." Carlyle gave a soft chuckle while his superior hummed in agreement. There was a bit of a silence as the vice admiral observed the young captain before him.

Carlyle had certainly seen better days. His skin was sickly pale and his eyes had bags underneath him from a lack of sleep. His appearance, which was normally neat and well-kept, was haggard and messy, as if he hadn't changed or washed in days.

"Looks almost like stalking," Tanaka said with another smile. His face went serious as he leaned toward the desk. "I mean it, Carlyle. I think you may be taking this a little too seriously."

Carlyle's face fell as he sighed and put his head in his hands again. "I know, sir."

"In this situation, you may call me Kobe. How many times must I remind you?"

"At least once more, sir." Carlyle gave a small smile before frowning. "I just... I want to find her. Aerie, I mean. I just can't believe she would just run away and join a pirate crew."

"I know, son. I was quite surprised when I heard she was dead one day and a pirate the next."

_Son_. As long as he could remember, Kobe had called Carlyle this. Carlyle didn't have a father when he was growing up, so the vice admiral was the closest thing he had to one. Now that Aerie had denounced her former dream and joined her father's enemy, the phrase seemed to carry more weight, as if Kobe was declaring him as his real child. A child who had followed in the footsteps of his father, instead of making his own path.

Another depression wave hit the captain and a small storm cloud appeared above his head. "She didn't even remember me," he moaned. "We were such good friends, and she didn't remember."

Tanaka sat back and watched his subordinate's emotions change within the blink of an eye. _The stress of this assignment is getting to him,_ he thought. _He needs to get out of here._ He stood up and walked behind the desk. "Listen to me, Carlyle." He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You haven't slept or eaten right in weeks. You're a mess. You need to leave. Go away for a few days."

Carlyle lifted his head to look at his superior. "Sir?" He asked.

"I'm asking, no ordering, for you to take a vacation. Spend some time away from the base."

"But, sir-"

"No buts," Tanaka stated firmly. "You are going to leave for two weeks. During those two weeks, you will not arrest anyone, you will not fight anyone, and you will not go looking for Aerie." Carlyle was about to protest again, but he was silenced by Kobe raising his hand. "And just to make sure you follow those orders, I am sending Sergeant Major Illia with you."

Carlyle gaped at him. "There really is no need to send a babysitter with me!"

"Do not think of her as a babysitter. She is there to make sure you do not go anywhere near anything work-related for two weeks." Kobe's gaze softened and he lowered himself to look Carlyle in the eyes. "It's for your own good, son. You need to get away from Marine life for a while. Clear your head. When you come back, you can track Aerie to your heart's content." He straightened and patted the captain on the back. He walked to the door and opened it, but as he was about to leave, he turned to face Carlyle again. "Two weeks, Carlyle. Starting tomorrow, I want you off this base."

~...~

It had been three weeks since the crew had left Steamworks, and life on board the _Moby Dick_ had ceased to a dull thrum. Each day, the chores and activities carried out by the crew remained the same, without much change. The crew hadn't had a good reason to party either, and not to mention they were almost out of rum and sake.

Even Marco had grown bored of the usual routine, so he decided he and Aerie should train twice a day, instead of just once. Naturally, he ignored her protests about it, so every morning she was woken up at the crack of dawn to do combat or weight training.

It was after the morning combat session that Aerie lay on the floor of the training room, out of breath and exhausted. Marco hadn't given her any slack that morning, and with every move she made, her muscles groaned in protest. They were nearing a summer island, and the air was thick with heat, which did not help with Aerie's discomfort, so she had taken off her shirt to only train in her sports bra. Nevertheless, it was still very hot in the closed-off training room.

Marco sat down beside her. He too had opted to not wear a shirt (not that it really made a difference with the way he usually wore the things). He was panting slightly, but not as deeply as Aerie. He leaned back so they were laying parallel to each other. For a long time, neither of them spoke, the only sound being their deep breathing. He rolled his head in her direction to stare at her. She stared back.

Finally, he broke the silence, asking, "How's your side doing, yoi?"

Aerie shrugged and absentmindedly rubbed the scar under her ribs from when the Machinist had sliced her on Steamworks. "It's fine," she said. "It wasn't as deep as we thought it was, but it still left a scar."

He hummed. "Glad to hear it. Also glad to see it hadn't affected your training any."

"Ah yes, the all-important training," she stated sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Very happy to see I am not injured enough to get out of at least a day of it."

"You weren't missing any limbs, therefore you were well enough to lift weights, yoi."

She huffed and rolled her head to look at the ceiling. "You're a horrible person. Have I ever told you that?"

"I'm sure you have somewhere along the line. Probably not in those exact words, though."

Aerie rolled her eyes again and turned to look at the clock on the wall. It was nine in the morning, meaning breakfast would be served soon. After that, she had an entire afternoon of doing nothing before the evening session before dinner. Maybe she would fly around on Apollo, or join Thatch in his pranking escapades...

The door was slammed open by Eric. "Hey guys, there's an island close by! Pops says we're docking!"

Or maybe she would explore the island.

Marco propped himself up on his elbows. "What's it called, yoi?"

"Don't know. But it looks like there's a circus or a carnival of some sort on the mainland! It doesn't look like any Marines are there either!"

Aerie perked up and the sound of a circus. As a kid, she loved going to the circus. The bright lights and colors, the smell of delicious food, and the gravity-defying entertainers had always enchanted her young mind. "How soon will we be there?" She asked Eric excitedly.

"We should be there at about eleven, according to some of the Second Division members." He answered.

She grinned and pushed herself to her feet. "Thanks, Eric!" She said as she left the room in a hurry, after pausing to grab her shirt from the corner of the room. She slipped it over her head and walked out on deck to find Eliza, hoping the redhead would want to see the circus with her.

True to the Second Division's word, the _Moby Dick_ docked on the island at eleven o'clock. Eliza had agreed to join Aerie in her quest to watch the circus, and she had joined the brunette on deck once her shift in the infirmary ended. Aerie was bouncing on her toes in excitement as the ship finally docked. The circus was huge and took up the entire island, making her wonder if the inhabitants were a part of the act.

The two women walked down the gang plank, Aerie trying to urge Eliza to move faster. Once on the docks, the brunette began to practically drag the redhead to the Big Top on the crest of a hill in the center of the island. On the walk there, the tantalizing smell of fair food and the allure of the bright flashy lights caught their attention from every direction. Aerie giggled to herself childishly as she beheld a man on stilts making balloon animals and handing them out to children. He caught her eye and made her a small bird, giving it to her with a smile. She accepted the balloon bird with a shy smile and a thank you.

She turned to see Eliza giving her a bemused look. "Everythin' alright, Aerie?"

"Fine, fine," Aerie smiled. "I just love the circus."

Eliza shook her head with a grin and was about to say something else when she looked over her head with wide eyes. Aerie turned to follow her line of sight and groaned when she saw what had captured the nurse's attention.

Above the stalls and tents, a bright blue flame was rising into the air. Aerie could hear people's shouts of fear and shock as whatever event unfolded on the other side of the tents.

"Marco," she growled. "What is that guy's problem? We're trying to have a good time, and he flames out on us."

Eliza sighed in resignation. "I'm afraid it was only a matter of time, lass. We are pirates, after all."

"Yeah, but he doesn't have to cause a scene five minutes after we dock."

"Wonder what happened this time," Eliza murmured as she watched the flames climb higher. She sighed again. "Reckon we should go stop him now?"

Aerie sighed as well. "Yeah, guess we better." The two ran to the end of the row of tents and rounded the corner, both preparing themselves mentally to do whatever necessary to stop the First Division commander.

Neither were quite prepared for what they saw. On one side was Marco, blue and orange flames surrounding his body as he readied himself to fully transform into a Phoenix. With him was Thatch, who was desperately trying to calm him down. On the other side, a dark-haired woman stood, a vein on her forehead as she talked to the person she was currently holding back by the collar of his shirt. Though, the person wasn't quite human. He looked like a half-breed of a reptile of some sort and a human. Aerie's eyes widened as she realized the identity of the one provoking her commander.

"Carlyle?" She asked in disbelief.

~...~

Carlyle was not having the best of days. For one thing, he was far from the safe confines of his office on an island the vice admiral had recommended to spend his vacation on. The island was a circus of some sort, at least from what he could gather. He had docked there that morning, having spent the last two days traveling there from the base.

For another thing, he was stuck with Sergeant Major Illia. Though her skills on the battlefield made her a worthy ally, her seriousness and rigidity made it difficult to have any sort of fun around her. When one looked up the term "stick in the mud" up in any dictionary, he would find a picture of her beside the definition. Carlyle had told her this to her face once, and the swift kick to his knee made him regret it. She was a soldier, pure and simple.

The morning had begun with the sergeant major rudely barging in to his room while he slept to wake him up. She had thrown the covers off of him, exposing his body to the cool morning air in his cabin. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him, and ordering him to wake up.

"What would have happened if I had decided to sleep naked last night?" He asked her crossly as he got up to find clean clothes.

She snorted. "It wouldn't have made a difference to me. I woke you, Captain, because we are now docking. Prepare to go ashore."

Carlyle grumbled something under his breath about not giving him orders as he found a pair of white pants and one of his blue shirts. He was about to pull these on over his undershirt and boxers when a bundle of something hit him in the face. He grabbed it and discovered it was a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. He gave Illia a questioning look.

She shrugged. "You're on vacation, sir. At least dress like it."

Upon examining her closer, he noticed she was dressed casually as well. Rather than her crisp, white uniform, she wore an army-green tank top with a black camisole underneath it and dark washed capris. Her dark hair, which was normally tied back in a constricting bun or ponytail, hung loose around her shoulders. She actually looked...nice. He told her so and she flushed a little.

"Just hurry up and get dressed," she snapped, turning and leaving the room.

Once he accomplished putting on his clothes, he walked on deck to join Illia. She looked him over and nodded, approving of his clothing. Then, the two walked off the ship and to the circus.

Carlyle, like Aerie, enjoyed circuses as a kid, though not quite on the level she had. He actually caught himself having a good time with his subordinate. She seemed to be having a bit of fun too. He even saw her smiling at him, but before he could comment, her expression turned serious again and she looked away.

All in all, both were having a somewhat enjoyable afternoon before those damned Whitebeard Pirates showed up. Carlyle had seen them first, and before Illia could stop him, he called out, "Marco the Phoenix and Thatch, First and Fourth Division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, you are under arrest!"

Said commanders immediately went into defensive positions while looking around to see who had made the claim. Thatch spotted Carlyle and pointed at him, a little too dramatically in Carlyle's opinion.

"Hey, you're the crocodile guy from Dōmei!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Marco followed his finger and saw Carlyle standing down the street from them. Beside him was an exasperated Sergeant Major Illia, looking like she could die from embarrassment.

"It doesn't matter what I'm doing here," Carlyle replied. "You two are under arrest. You will now tell me the whereabouts of Tanaka Aerie as well, so that she may also be apprehended."

Marco straightened up and gave him a half-lidded glare. "Even if we knew where she is, we wouldn't tell you, yoi." He lit his entire body on fire. "As if we'd let you take her or us anyway. No one is getting arrested today."

"We'll see about that," Carlyle growled, beginning to transform himself into his man-beast form. Marco frowned and the flames around him grew bigger. People were starting to realize sticking around was a really bad idea and were evacuating the area as fast as they could, leaving the four on an empty street. Just as Carlyle took a step forward, he was stopped by someone grabbing the back of the collar of his shirt.

That someone turned out to be a very irritated Sergeant Major Illia. He glared down at her and she glared back.

"Sergeant Major," he growled warningly, "let me go."

"I can't do that, Captain." She replied rigidly. "You were given explicit orders to not arrest anyone for two weeks, and I was given orders to stop you if you tried."

He stared at her for a minute, before loudly exclaiming, "You've got to be kidding me! I was ordered weeks ago to capture these pirates and you're not going to let me?"

"As I recall, sir, your orders were to capture Tanaka Aerie and the Artful Dodger. I don't believe that includes the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates."

Carlyle made a noise that was a cross between a growl and a whine. He couldn't believe this woman some times! She was always willing to capture pirates, so what was wrong with her now?

He poked her in the forehead with one of his talons. "Who are you and what have you done with the sergeant major?" He asked seriously.

Her composure faltered for a second, then she resumed glowering at him. "Idiot, what are you talking about?" He opened his mouth to reply, but another voice stopped him.

"Carlyle?" Aerie asked in disbelief.

~...~

_Of all the people to run into here, of course it has to be Carlyle_, Aerie thought dryly. On one hand, she was relieved to find the person riling Marco up was no Marine more important than her childhood friend. On the other hand, she wished it was anybody but Carlyle.

The crocodile man, however seemed to be happy to see her.

"Aerie!" He called out. Turning back to his subordinate, he said, "All right, Illia, she's here now. Can I arrest them?"

The subordinate, Illia, gritted her teeth as her eyebrow twitched in irritation. "I've already told you, Captain, you are not arresting anyone."

Aerie thought it to be very odd that a Marine would defend a group of pirates. She exchanged a confused glance with Eliza before leaning closer to Thatch and asking, "Any idea what's going on?"

He shrugged. "The usual. Marine sees pirates, Marine claims pirates are under arrest, pirates refuse arrest, and both parties commence making threats and standing off."

"Oi!" All of the people assembled jumped at Marco's sudden shout. "Are we gonna fight or not?" He demanded, flames surrounding him growing larger.

Carlyle rolled his eyes. "What makes you think you can defeat me, pirate?"

"If Thatch and Aerie could do it, it can't be that hard," Marco responded. Thatch made a protesting noise while Aerie huffed in annoyance.

"We'll see about that." Carlyle shook off the hand of Illia and started to run at the pirates; Marco did the same, only toward him.

Aerie moved quickly to stand between the two of them, holding out her palms to stop the charging enemies. Both men skidded to a halt on either side of her.

"Aerie," Marco said in a low tone. "What do you think you're doing, yoi?"

"Get out of the way, Aerie. This is between me and the Phoenix." Carlyle added. Marco glared at him other over the top of Aerie's head.

"No," she stated firmly. "No one is fighting, and no one is getting arrested." She looked at both of them as she spoke, but neither had backed down yet. "Come on, Marco," she pleaded. "We don't need to cause a scene five minutes after stepping foot on to an island." Marco bristled, but said nothing. "Besides, aren't you the one always telling me to stay out of trouble?"

"Tanaka is right," Illia said, coming to stand by Carlyle. "This island is neutral territory. We shouldn't be causing conflicts on it. For Heaven's sake, Captain, we're on vacation."

For a while, no one moved. Marco and Carlyle remained glowering at each other for another long minute, before both of them sighed in resignation, Marco extinguishing his flames, Carlyle shrinking back to his regular size.

The Phoenix glared at the Golden Eagle. "Happy, yoi?" He snapped sarcastically.

"I am!" A new voice chimed in from the sidelines. The group turned to see a man wearing a suit and tails along with a top hat, all a ridiculous shade of lime green. The ensemble was entirely coated with sparkly sequins. His pants were, thankfully, a classic shade of black, along with his shoes. Under the hat, two bright green eyes watched the pirates and the Marines while one of his gloved hands pulled at the goatee on his chin. "I'm so ecstatic you could resolve your conflict without any damage to the circus!"

The group stared at him. "What in the name of piracy are you _wearing_?" Thatch questioned. Eliza hit him on the head, causing the taller man to kneel in pain.

The bedazzled man laughed, not bothered by Thatch's comment in the least. "My good man, it is only polite to ask for the name of the one you address before questioning their attire."

"Right," Thatch nodded from his position on the ground. "Okay, so who-"

"My name is Reginald Arthur Timberland George MacIntosh the Third. You may call me 'Ringmaster', for that is also who I am." He was met with the astonished gazes of the party. He chuckled and spread his arms out wide. "Welcome to Three-Ring Island, home of the most famous circuses on the Grand Line!"

Illia was the first to regain her cool facade. "Thank you very much sir. I'm sure we will all-"

"And as for what I am wearing," he continued, speaking over the sergeant major. "I am wearing a coat and tails, which I personally designed and decorated. Is it not the most astonishing thing you've ever seen?"

"I'll say," muttered Carlyle, earning him a sharp glance from Illia.

"Again, thank you for resolving your fight and not ruining the circus. It would be a shame for me to have to kick you out." The Ringmaster laughed, and the group joined him, albeit nervously.

"You're welcome, yoi. Do you know how long it takes for the log pose to reset here?" Marco asked him, putting his hands in his pockets.

Ringmaster smiled jovially. "Why of course I do, my pineapple-headed friend." Marco grimaced at the nickname. "It takes precisely one week until it locks onto the field of the next island."

Carlyle mentally cursed. The Whitebeards would be long gone by the time his vacation ended and Illia would allow him to arrest them. He glanced at Illia, and noticing the slight frown on her face, deduced she was thinking the same as him.

"In the mean time," he continued. "I hope to see you all at the Big Top this evening for the special sneak-peek at our new act, which is set to premiere tomorrow night." He bowed while taking off his hat, then walked away.

Once he was out of earshot, Thatch muttered, "What a weirdo."

Carlyle agreed with him, but not say so out loud. He turned back to the pirates. "I'm keeping my eye on you, so don't cause any trouble. It would be my honor to put you all behind bars."

"Keep talking, yoi," Marco drawled. "But talk is what it'll ever be. You can't do anything to us anyone hasn't tried before."

Carlyle glowered, while at the same time noticing he was a little bit taller than the First Division commander, giving him the advantage of looking down slightly at his adversary. Eventually, he broke the gaze, turning to face Sergeant Major Illia. "Let's go, Illia. We're done here." She nodded and began walking the direction they came from. Before turning around for good, Carlyle tried to catch Aerie's eye, but her gaze remained on Marco, where it had been for the past several minutes. He frowned and followed Illia back down the street. The pair rounded the corner, therefore leaving the Whitebeards' line of sight.

Thatch sighed and gave his friends a wide grin. "Boy, that was close. Never thought we'd run into him again, eh, Aerie?"

Aerie didn't answer, still staring at Marco. He stared back before giving her a lazy smirk. "Like what you see, yoi?"

"Hmm," she replied thoughtfully. "Not entirely. I was just thinking about what Ringmaster said."

"What's that?"

"Your head _does_ look like a pineapple." She answered simply. The other crew members groaned.

Marco's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, does it?"

"Seriously, it does! How could I have not possibly noticed this before?"

Eliza and Thatch sweatdropped as they watched the commander and the artist's usual behavior. _This is going to be a _long_ week_, they both thought.

* * *

**Guess who finally decided to get off her lazy butt and finish this chapter? That's right, me! **Sorry if the ending is kinda really lame, but I didn't know how to end it there, as something important is happening in the next chapter. ****

**Okay, let's do a quick count here. Carlyle feels, check. New island, check. Weird guy in a sparkly suit, check. Good, it's all there! Just your average chapter of The Artful Dodger!**

**As always, review, favorite, follow, etc. please! Your comments mean a lot to me! Let me know how I'm doing, I love hearing from all of you!**

**~The Hero Gotham Deserves, just not the One it Needs (Or something like that)**

**P.S. I just noticed the pirates didn't have any vulgarity in this chapter! Yay!**


	13. Chapter 12: Reflection

**Savage Kill: You're right, that she didn't. ;) Thanks! I try to add humor, but I fail at it most of the time. I'm not nearly as funny as my younger brother, though. Yep, they argue, and the crew only cares if it gets violent. And yes, Marco is very protective of the crew. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume being First Division commander is equivalent to being the First Mate, which kind of makes him the "big brother" of their family. I had no idea who that guy was you told me about until an hour ago when I looked him up on google. I saw his picture, and my reaction was along the lines of, "Yep, that's the Ringmaster." I must say, your comment about Carlyle's name made my day, possibly my week. Seriously. He also might get a liiittle jealous of her guy friends, who knows? ;)**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Thanks!**

**AkaNeko-chan: Thanks! And yes, he is more than a little creepy ;)**

**Guest: Thanks so much!**

**awannabewriter4years: Almost done with it, haha!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Reflection

Carlyle woke up with a pounding headache, which was odd for him. He couldn't remember doing anything that would earn him such an awakening. He rarely drank, and he was certain a hangover was not the cause of the unpleasant feeling he was currently experiencing. He slowly opened his eyes and was met with bright lights, something that made his headache worse. Groaning, he rolled onto his side and attempted to push himself off the floor. His arms felt heavy and could barely move, but he somehow manage the task of setting himself on his knees. He opened his eyes again, now more or less used to the light.

If anything, the surroundings he saw were more confusing than his headache. He sat in the center of a circular room with no doorway leading in to it. The lights causing him so much strife were shining down from their mounts on the ceiling. The oddest thing about the room, though, was that its walls were covered in floor-to-ceiling mirrors. In other words, this was not his cabin on his ship.

Carlyle stared at the mirrors, and his many reflections stared back. The room did seem somewhat familiar to him, but he could not remember where though the fog covering his brain. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, then ran one of them through his hair as he tried to think.

"Did you have a nice nap?" A voice asked pleasantly from somewhere behind him. Carlyle jumped and twisted his body around to see who was speaking to him. His eyes widened.

"I'm afraid the floor isn't that comfortable," the Ringmaster continued with a regretful voice. "But I am I sorry to say it was the best I could do for you, my friend. I'm horribly sorry about drugging you, too, but it was necessary."

Carlyle gaped as his clouded head tried to make sense of what he was seeing. In front of him stood Ringmaster, in all his sparkly, fluorescent green glory, but he was standing on the other side of the mirror. No one was on this side to cast the reflection, either.

"You-? What-? How-?" Carlyle stuttered as he struggled to form a sentence.

Ringmaster chuckled. "A mere trick, my dear boy. An illusion, if you will. A friend of mine ate a Devil Fruit that involves mirrors and reflections. The mirrors can act as windows, which I am speaking through now. In other words I am not here, but elsewhere."

The fog in Carlyle's head was lifting, so he was able to make partial sense of what the bedazzled man said. He tilted his head and thought some more. "So, basically," he said, "the mirrors don't work the way they should?"

"Correct. They are unique, which is why they are in a circus."

"What else can they do?"

Ringmaster chuckled again. "Dear boy, as they say, it is for me to know and you to find out."

Typical answer for a villain, Carlyle thought dryly. He had to keep the other man talking, at least until his headache cleared and he could find a way out of the room.

"Fair enough," he said after a moment. "Why am I here then?"

"Quite simple, really," Ringmaster replied. "I intend to use your crew for a special purpose, one that which you would not like, so I needed you out of the way. That woman who was with you, too."

"Illia?" Carlyle pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. "What do you want with her? And what are you doing with my men?"

"Patience, dear boy. You will know soon enough." He tilted his head, as if listening to something. "It seems as though my other guest is waking up as well. I'll be leaving you now."

"Wait just a minute!" Carlyle shouted. "If you so much as touch my men, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Ringmaster's smile disappeared. "Face it, you can't do anything from in there, so your threats are empty." He leaned his body to the side to look behind Carlyle. "Besides, you have your hands full at the moment."

Carlyle turned and was met with the sight of his reflection stepping out of the mirror like it was a freaking door. His eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped in shock. "How-?"

"You asked what else these mirrors could do. Now, I really, must be going. Ta-ta, my dear boy." With that, the Ringmaster disappeared from the mirror, leaving Carlyle alone with his reflection, a maniacal grin on its face.

Carlyle stared at the reflection. It stared back, grin never wavering. Finally, Carlyle said, "Alright, let's get this over with, then," and he sprinted forward to attack it. He sent a lick flying toward its head, but the reflection blocked it with one hand. It twisted his foot, throwing Carlyle to the ground. He quickly rolled to avoid a stomp from the reflection and sprang to his feet to dodge another kick. He frowned. _This could be harder than I anticipated_, he thought.

He focused on trying to get his air back while he studied the reflection. It was a perfect copy, except for his physical features being on the opposite side that it should, such as the part in his hair. Unlike him, it didn't seem to have any problems with breathing.

"You know, you always were weak," the reflection stated. Carlyle bristled at its comment, before realizing it had spoken.

"You can talk?" He shouted while pointing at the reflection.

It sighed in annoyance. "You weren't ever that bright either."

"Oi! Aren't we the same person?"

"Not really," it said while rolling his eyes. "I'm your reflection. Or you're mine, whichever you prefer. That means we are exact opposites. I'm smart, strong, and good looking."

Carlyle sweatdropped. "Not sure what the last one has to do with anything," he muttered.

The reflection shrugged. "Me neither, just felt like mentioning it." He rushed forward again, aiming punches and kicks at Carlyle's face, forcing the man to be on the defensive. The two kept at it like this, until the reflection stumbled while jumping back, finally allowing Carlyle to gain the advantage. He managed to plant both of his feet on its chest and launched himself one way while it went the other.

The reflection flew back until it hit a mirror, instantly breaking it, and causing its own body to crack. Carlyle's eyes widened. _So it can shatter like an actual mirror_, he thought. _Interesting_.

It got to its feet, a bit slower than before. However, it's cracked state didn't seem to faze it as it grinned again.

"Bet it was nice to see Aerie again wasn't it?" It asked. Carlyle glared at it. "Too bad she wasn't all that happy to see you. She didn't even remember you, did she?"

Carlyle rushed forward to punch the thing in the face, causing more spiderweb-like cracks to appear on its face. It punched him in the gut, sending the air in his lungs to rush out in a whoosh. It laughed and with one push from its foot, he was sent flying back into a mirror of his own. The glass shattered and fell around him as he sat there, trying to ignore the sharp pains from the cuts on his back.

"She left because of you." The reflection continued. "Because you weren't there to help her. Because you didn't understand. Because she didn't like you."

Carlyle's head snapped up and with a growl of anger, he sprang forward to send another flurry of punches and kicks at the now-loathed reflection. It laughed and blocked each one and sent him flying once again. He landed on the ground on his stomach.

The reflection laughed cruelly. "You're so pathetic," it taunted. "It's a miracle Kobe ever wanted you to join the Marines in the first place. Then again, he didn't have his beloved daughter, so he had to made do with you."

"Shut up!" Carlyle roared. He had lost any control he had left at that moment. He launched himself once again at the reflection, sending blow after blow into the thing's face. Chunk after chunk of the reflection's physique broke off, until Carlyle sent his fist straight through its chest. It completely shattered, but as the glass shards fell to the floor, it sent him one last maniacal grin. Carlyle stared at the shards for a moment before shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and kicked them. "Bastard," he muttered.

He turned to survey his surroundings. When none of the other reflections stepped out of their mirrors, he relaxed a little. However, he was still trapped in the room with no obvious means of escape.

As he stood, he thought about what Ringmaster had told him.

_"So basically," he said, "the mirrors don't act the way they should?"_

_"Correct. They are unique, which is why they are in a circus."_

_"What else can they do?"_

_Ringmaster chuckled. "Dear boy, as they say, that is for me to know and you to find out."_

Carlyle looked around again. _If the reflections can walk out of them, _he silently wondered_, can I walk through them?_ He decided it wouldn't hurt to try. Well, no more than it already had.

He walked to the closest mirror and uncertainly put his hand to the cool glass. It didn't pass through, making him frown and retract his hand. He tried mirror after mirror until he was at the last one. This time, he put his hand to the glass and pushed, not expecting it to work.

Of course, for the sake of humor, this was the one his hand managed to pass through.

He had put too much force behind the push, and it caused his body to be unbalanced. He tumbled through the mirror, landing in the hallway outside with a grunt of annoyance. He looked up and down the length of the hallway. No one was coming from either direction, which was good. However, there wasn't a map or any signs to tell him where he actually was, which was bad. Instead, mirrors lined the walls of this hallway, just like in the room he had left. Sighing he picked a direction at random and began walking that way, hands once again in his pockets.

~...~

Marco scowled at himself. He used to think he was a charming, charismatic, handsome young man, but now he saw how Aerie could find him to be so annoying. He would never tell her that, of course. He didn't want to boost her ego any more than it already was (not that he was one to talk about inflated egos, but come on).

Instead of scowling like it was supposed to, his own reflection grinned back cheekily. It had some large cracks on its body and face, but it still grinned and taunted him, making him go from irked to fully irritated.

"What's the matter, yoi?" It asked in his voice, even including the little word at the end of his sentence. "You looked tired. Maybe you should die already."

"The only thing I'm tired of is the sound of you talking, yoi." Marco said. "I never knew I talked so much."

The reflection shrugged despondently, causing a few shards of glass to fall to the floor. "Whatever, man. Say what you want. Not like I have feelings or anything, right?"

Marco felt a vein appear on his forehead. "You're a reflection! You're not supposed to have feelings!"

"Maybe, but where you are cold and mean, I am open and friendly, yoi. I don't try to hide my emotions like you, Marco." It suddenly smiled. "With my newly found feelings, I shall tell everyone on the crew what they mean to me! Then we will all share our secrets and our desires-"

"What. The hell. Are you talking about?" Marco growled. "You're not going anywhere. I'm going to smash you, then I'm going to leave this stupid maze, yoi."

It pouted, like, actually pouted. Marco couldn't remember the last time a look like that had been on his face. "You're so mean, just like Aerie said," it huffed.

"I'm not the First Division commander because I'm nice."

"Well, you should be, yoi." It stuck out its tongue, making another vein pop on Marco's forehead.

"I'm done with this crap." Marco sprinted forward, catching his reflection off-guard. He punched it in the face, sending it flying. It hit the mirror behind it and crumpled to the ground. While it did have Marco's looks, it did not seem to have his strength or his stamina. It cracked for one last time before completely breaking into pieces. At last the blasted thing was gone, no longer an annoyance or an immediate worry.

Marco thought back to when the thing had stepped out of a mirror and when he thought the battle would last a long time.

~...~

_About half an hour earlier..._

Marco groaned and rolled onto his side. He felt as though he had been drinking all night long, even though he couldn't remember doing such the evening before. The only thing he could remember was seeing that new act the Ringmaster had mentioned, then walking back to the ship with the crew. His head was cloudy and his body felt slow and sluggish, and he was having trouble making a clear train of thought.

"Wakey wakey, my pineapple-headed friend," a disembodied voice said cheerily. "I have places to be and you have a problem on your hands."

Marco pushed himself onto his knees and opened his eyes, blinking against the bright lights. He squinted at what was in front of him, not really believing what he was seeing.

The Ringmaster was standing on the other side of what looked like a mirror, still wearing that dumb, fluorescent green suit. The man smiled down at him when he saw Marco had noticed him. "That's a boy!" He cheered. "Tell me, how are you feeling?"

Marco had scowled at the use of the word "boy", only adding reasons to the list as to why Marco didn't like the Ringmaster. "Honestly, I feel like ten pounds of crap in a two-pound bag, yoi."

Ringmaster laughed loudly. While he did so, Marco glanced around at his surroundings. He was in the center of a rectangular room, with mirrors covering every square inch of the walls. Across the room was a hallway leading out of there, the walls of which were also covered in mirrors.

"Oh, my friend," Ringmaster said, finally finished with his laughing fit. "That was probably the best thing I have heard all morning. Now, to business." He brought his hands together in front of his abdomen. "I'm sure you're wondering why you are here." Marco nodded. "Well, allow me to put it like this: I need your crew, but in order to get to them, I needed you out of the way."

Marco glared at him. "And what exactly do you need my crew for?" He asked. "And what makes you think I would let you get away with it?"

Ringmaster shrugged. "You will see soon enough. And, seeing as you are trapped in here, you don't have a say in the matter."

"What did you do to Pops?"

"Your Pops, as you call him, is fast asleep. It's amazing how much sake he drinks. It was relatively simple to drug all of you pirates and bring you here."

Marco got to his feet shakily. He clenched his hands into fists at his side and gritted his teeth. How dare this man take him and his family away from their home and bring them here?

"Listen to me now, yoi," he growled. "I am going to get out of here, and when I find you, you are going to wish you had never crossed me."

Ringmaster's gaze turned cold. "You are not in the position to be making threats, boy," he spat. "Besides, you have your hands full at the moment."

Marco spun around and saw his reflection step out of one of the mirrors behind him. He gaped for a second before remembering his anger and turned back to the Ringmaster. He cursed when he saw that the older man had already disappeared.

He looked back at the reflection behind him. It was smiling at him in a friendly way, an expression that was not normally on Marco's face. He sighed in annoyance and prepared himself to fight it.

~...~

Marco nudged the shards of glass that was once his reflection with his foot. He looked up and around the room again. It looked like the only way out of there was through the hallway, so that's where he went. As he walked down the hallway, he wondered what hand happened to the rest of the crew. Most of them could handle themselves quite well, but others worked better with a small group. He sighed in annoyance. He shouldn't be worrying. He should figure out where exactly he was and how to escape so he could help his family.

He looked around again. He couldn't remember visiting this place the day before, but then again, he could hardly remember going back to the ship last night. If anything, the mirrors around him gave him a pretty good idea where he was.

Marco stopped walking as he came to an intersection. Each of the hallways branching off of his own were covered in mirrors, making it hard to discern where he was going. He looked in all directions before deciding on the hallway to his left. He had heard a story a while ago about a woman eventually escaping a maze just by taking left turns. Figuring those chances were better than any other at the moment, Marco decided to follow her example.

He took left turn after left turn, making his way through the maze at a leisurely pace. He knew running around the glass-covered hallways would do him as much good as walking, so why waste the energy? He would need it, after all, when he wrung that slimy Ringmaster's neck.

Just thinking of the sequined man made Marco's blood boil with rage. As furious as he was that the man had the nerve to kidnap the Whitebeard Pirates, he was even more angry at himself for not protecting his family when it needed him. He couldn't wait until he could get his hands on the man and make him pay for taking his family.

The sound of breaking glass brought Marco from his thoughts. It sounded like it was coming from further ahead in the hallway. He stopped to consider his options. On one hand, whatever broke the mirror could be trying to find him and kill him. On the other hand, it could be lost like he was (not that he would admit it), and he could possibly work out an arrangement beneficial to both of them. Shrugging, he walked down the hall, where he could hear more glass being broken. Curiosity now piqued, he rounded the corner and mentally face-palmed as he beheld the sight in front of him.

It was Marine Captain Carlyle, and he seemed fully intent on breaking every single mirror in the hallway.

~...~

Carlyle's day was just going from bad to worse, it seemed. As soon as he began walking down the hallway, he took turn after turn until he was back at the one he started in. He turned and went the other way, only to find himself back again. He didn't like being lost, or even admit he was lost. Out of frustration, he punched the mirror closest to him, shattering it and making a large noise. It didn't help his temper any, so he continued to do the same to the rest of the mirrors in the hallway. By now, the floor was so covered in glass shards it was impossible to walk with having at least one underfoot. He was about to go on another tirade with these shards when a smug, familiar voice broke through his anger.

"Enjoying yourself, yoi?" Carlyle turned to glower at the First Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Marco smirked back, unaffected by the glare that could cow a bull. "What did these mirrors ever do to you, anyway?"

"_You_," Carlyle snarled, fists clenching at his sides. Without warning he sprang at the commander, tackling him him to the floor and sitting on top of him. Marco gritted his teeth when his sparsely clothed back came into contact with the sharp glass, but still grinned up at his adversary.

"Wow, did you miss me this much? I'm honored, Carol, really." He said cheekily.

Carlyle punched him in the jaw. "It's Carlyle, pirate," the captain bit out.

Marco rolled his jaw a little bit to lessen the pain of the punch. It hurt, more than he would ever admit, but he still smirked at the other man. "Whatever, yoi. Won't really matter what your name is here in a minute after I beat you beyond recognition." He flipped them over so he was sitting on Carlyle, enjoying the momentary shock that came over the Marine's face.

The shock didn't last long. Carlyle used his feet to grab Marco's head from behind and toss the pirate off of him before rising to his feet. Marco sprang up from the ground, a cut now opened on his forehead. Both lunged forward, each sending a punch at the other. Their fists collided with enough force to turn the glass shards into dust around them.

Marco grunted in annoyance. "Seems like you're stronger than they said you were."

Carlyle scoffed. "I'm not losing to the same crew twice!" He declared as he kicked Marco in the side. He began transforming into his man-beast form. "Aerie's not standing in between us anymore, Phoenix. I'm not holding anything back." He rushed forward, transformation now complete. He snapped in the air where Marco had stood mere seconds ago, his jaws shutting with a sickening crunch. The commander made a mental note not to stray anywhere close to those teeth. Carlyle came at him next with his tail, swiping it to try to knock Marco's feet out from under him. Marco jumped into the air and shifted his body to avoid the punch aimed at his head.

Marco summoned a bit of his blue fire into his hand and hurled it at a charging Carlyle. The crocodile-man payed it no heed as he ran forward again at the commander. All Marco could do in this narrow hallway was dodge and jump. He couldn't turn his arms into wings and use the air to his advantage, nor could he set fire to anything in fear of it burning around them. He sidestepped the captain, leaning close into a broken mirror frame, the jagged glass cutting his shirt to ribbons

Carlyle barely missed the commander as he charged. He whipped his head to find the Phoenix huddled in the frame of a mirror to his right. Carlyle grinned, the action making his crocodile face more sinister, and turned to corner the man.

Marco looked up to see Carlyle's shadow coming over him, and ducked as another punch hit the wall where his face was. Carlyle leaned down and picked Marco up by his throat.

"End of the line, pirate," he said, bring his fist back again, fully intending to end Marco's life then and there. Marco's eyes widened when he saw the fist draw back, knowing he wouldn't last much longer after another hit to the head. However, just as Carlyle was about to knock his head clean off his shoulders, a new voice stepped in.

"This is quite the mess you two have made, isn't it?" Ringmaster said, kicking some of the remaining shards of glass. Both Carlyle's and Marco's heads whipped around to stare at him. "Must you really destroy my circus?" He asked ruefully.

Carlyle recovered first. "Ringmaster," he spat, narrowing his eyes. "Good, I was just about to finish up with this guy. Once I'm done, I'll deal with you."

"I don't think so, dear boy. You see, I still have a plan to carry out, and you still have a maze to remain lost in."

"I'm not lost!" Carlyle punctuated this sentence by throwing the thing he held in his hand; the thing, of course, being Marco the Phoenix. Ringmaster let out a yelp and sidestepped to avoid the flying commander. Marco crashed into the floor and groaned.

"So violent!" The bedazzled man screeched, shielding his face with his hands.

"You have no idea," Carlyle snarled and charged forward, only to stop and realize Ringmaster wasn't there. The man had suddenly vanished.

"Temper, temper," Ringmaster's voice chided from behind him. Carlyle whipped around to see the sequined man standing there as if nothing had happened. "You should do something about that, dear boy."

"Like I care what you have to say!" Carlyle rushed forward again, only to have Ringmaster disappear once more. He turned and saw the man being quickly lowered from the ceiling by a system of pulleys and strings. Now figuring out the system, he clawed the strings to break them, picking up the man by the collar of his green, sparkly jacket.

Ringmaster screamed a high pitch, girlish scream and attempted to cover his face again. Carlyle came this close to killing him when Marco spoke up. "Killing him won't do us any good, yoi."

Carlyle froze. He looked over at Marco who had pushed himself into a sitting position on the floor. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know about you, but my entire crew was captured. If we kill him we could be lost in here forever and I wouldn't be able to help them. I would also venture to say the same is with you." Carlyle nodded. "Then it's simple. We keep him alive, and he can lead us to our respective crews."

Carlyle sighed, realizing the man had a point. He gradually shrunk back to his original form, but still held Ringmaster by the collar. He pushed the cowering man forward toward Marco, who got to his feet.

"You heard him, scum," the captain stated. "Lead us out of here." Ringmaster gave a shaky nod and began walking down the hall. Carlyle followed until he caught up to Marco.

"Get ready for a fight," he warned the commander out of the side of his mouth. "I don't think he's gonna let us win this easy." Marco nodded, and together, the two enemies walked behind the man in the bedazzled suit.

~...~

Elsewhere on the island, Aerie woke up with a moan. She had a horrendous headache, which she sincerely hoped was not caused by alcohol. Her mind was fuzzy and she could not remember what she had done to deserve such a sensation. She rubbed her eyes and opened them, only to realize it was just as dark in the room as it was when her eyes were closed. She pushed herself onto her backside and struggled to think.

Over the next couple of minutes, her head cleared enough that she could remember the night before. She and her friends went to that new act Ringmaster was telling them about, and after that, they went to the ship. Aerie had no doubt in her mind she was not in her cabin on the ship, nor was she on the ship at all.

She squinted her eyes to try to distinguish any shapes in the dark room. When she looked down at herself, she noticed she herself was glowing somewhat, as if a single light was only shining on her. She examined her hands and arms, along with her body. Her mind was drawing a complete blank as she considered what could cause this. Briefly, she wondered if she was dreaming, but she dismissed this, for no other dream she experienced had been this realistic. As she looked around once more, a voice broke through the darkness.

"Hello there, sweetheart." Aerie's blood ran cold in her veins as she turned to see the voice's owner. Not that it was necessary; she would know that voice from anywhere, she just sincerely hoped she was wrong. Her golden eyes widened and her heart dropped down to her stomach when she beheld the one speaking to her.

He hadn't changed in the four years since she had last seen him; his eyes and hair were still the same chocolate brown; his face was open and youthful, with the exception of the crinkles forming on his forehead and around his eyes; his crisp, white suit was perfectly pressed and creased, having more medals on his breast than she remembered; and he was still the same tall, lean man she had looked up to for so long. Unlike last time, his smile was more smug and sinister rather than kind and caring.

Her father stood across the room from her. "Miss me?" He asked tauntingly.

* * *

***Hides behind sofa* I CAN EXPLAIN! *Dodges various items thrown by angry readers***

**But, in all seriousness, I really can explain. The past four weeks I have been literally buried in homework. If you want some perspective on this, allow me to put it this way: I've had to stay home from swim practice all week and still stayed up past nine thirty to do homework. I haven't slept right in about three weeks, and the pressure's just starting. This week I don't have much to do (I hope) so I might be back sooner than I anticipate. It all depends on my teachers.**

**Welp, what did you think? The plot thickens, am I right? Can anyone see where this is going? *Raises hand* **

**You know the drill: favorite, follow, and review, please! Until next time, my minions-err, darlings!**

**~Batman**


	14. Chapter 13: Clown Act

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Yeah, you're right, Marco is weak in these chapters. I actually have a somewhat-legitimate reason for this. Keep in mind this story is written twenty-four years before the current storyline. Marco hasn't had the time to get to be quite as strong as he is because he's still twenty-four years too young to be at the level of strength he is at, say, Marineford. He's still strong, just not as strong as he is now. Thanks!**

**Guest: Actually, it was mostly because I was short about 500 words for that chapter that he was put in it, where he was originally in the beginning of the next one. I have a plan, though (kind of). Hopefully it works out the way I want it to! Thanks for the review!**

**NightsBlackRose13: I'm glad you like it! And about that update, haha, *cough*Ihaven'tevenwrittenityet*cough*. And thank you! I wasn't sure if I've been writing Marco in character because there aren't many episodes/chapters featuring him, so it's kind of hard to get the proper vibe. *Cannons fired like it's 1776* SUNK! Haha, just kidding. I honestly don't know what I'll do with the two of them. Part of me wants for there to be something, the other part (the part that acknowledges I've never been in a relationship before) thinks it's a stupid idea and they should remain as they are. Although have you read my other story, We Are Family? I have a cute little one-shot about them (kinda). Thanks so much for the nice review!**

**EmilyHakumana: Aww thanks! I really like this story too, if I may say so myself. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, it may be a while until the next update... X( Please know that I do intend to continue the story! And thanks so much for the lovely reviews you left me! You can't believe how excited I get when I open my email and see I have two saying someone left a review ^.^**

* * *

Chapter 13: Clown Act

If there was anything Eliza hated in the world, it was being caged. As an assassin, her life had been carefully planned out, making her always be one place or the other on a moment's notice. Despite the restrictions set on her, she could roam free until it came time to kill a target. Then, we she became a pirate, she experienced true freedom. The freedom to decide what to do with her life, where to go, when to go there, and what to do once she got there. She also experienced true friendship with the jolly band of misfits.

Naturally, being stuck in a cage did not suit a free spirit such as Eliza's.

The redhead paced back and forth across her small cage, earning her concerned and annoyed looks from the cage's other two inhabitants.

She threw her fists in the air and slammed them against the bars of the cage. "Where the bloody hell is that creep?" She demanded to the two guards outside the cage. The guards did not respond, as they hadn't the other three times Eliza asked this question. They remained stoically standing there, acting as if she hadn't said a word. She growled in frustration and resumed her pacing.

"Eliza, maybe you should calm down." Thatch said. He gulped when he saw the murderous look in her eyes, but continued trying to soothe her. "Getting angry will not solve any of this. We need to come up with a plan."

"He's right," Sergeant Major Illia added. "We must find a way out of here to rescue both of our crews." Eliza huffed and continued walking back and forth. "And would you please stop that infernal pacing?"

Eliza glowered at the woman. The three of them had woken up, one at a time, in the cage about an hour ago. Up until now, the dark-haired Marine was mostly silent, only answering when Eliza had inquired about her health. She sat there, looking as if she had sucked on a lemon. Thatch had tried to talk to her once or twice, but she answered in one-word sentences. Under most circumstances, Eliza would try to be friendly to her as well, but these were not most circumstances. She opened her mouth to say something nasty, but Thatch silenced her with a look.

She stopped her "infernal pacing" and slid down the opposite side of the cage. She watched through the bars as two new guards holding machine guns came to replace the ones who were already there.

Thatch followed her gaze and commented, "Wonder why he used clowns of all people to guard us."

It did seem rather odd to have clowns as henchmen, mostly because it was hard to take them seriously in those colorful suits and that face paint. They didn't look terrifying so much as they did weird.

Eliza studied the two men closely. Their movements were sharp and precise, as if they had been trained for years. They stood with straight backs and their feet shoulder-width apart. Everything about these two screamed "soldier", including the hard expressions both men wore.

She glanced at Illia, who was also watching the two clowns with a frown on her face. Eliza had no doubt the other woman had noticed the things she had and it made as much sense to her as it did to the nurse. Next, she glanced at Thatch, who didn't seem to notice anything about them other than they were clowns.

"Hey, fellas," Thatch said in a whining tone, "any chance of us getting some food? I'm totally starving." What happened next happened so fast Eliza would have missed it if not for her trained assassin's eyes. Both guards reached into their pockets, pulled out a clip, loaded it into their guns, spun around, and aimed the weapons at Thatch's face. Eliza shot to her feet in an instant, not really sure what she could do, but willing to do anything to save her crew mate. Thatch only gulped, smiled nervously, and said, "You know what, I think I'm good for now."

The guards unloaded their weapons and turned around as fast as they had loaded them. Eliza slowly sat back down across the cell from Thatch, who looked uneasy.

"Alright?" She asked him. He frowned and shrugged in reply.

"Did you see that?" Sergeant Major Illia asked quietly. "The synchronization and speed with which those two moved. It's almost...unreal."

Thatch furrowed his eyebrows while Eliza mulled this over. Their speed was inhuman and their actions were perfectly synchronized. After a moment, she said, "You're right, somethin' about them seems off. They've either been through a lot of trainin', or somethin' is goin' on here we don't know about." The other two prisoners silently nodded their agreement.

~...~

Izo was not in a good mood. He woke up feeling like someone had left a pound of bricks lying on his head, he was currently trapped in a cage, and the rest of the crew wasn't doing much better. They were all in similar cages, in groups of two or three, in the center of the Big Top's circular floor. There was also a Marine crew there scattered amongst the cages of pirates. Both parties were doing their best to get along, but there was a thick tension in the room from this mixture of oil and water.

Off to the side of the room was a massive cage, in which Whitebeard himself sat, leaning up against the bars, snoring loudly. Izo sighed upon seeing his father had still not woken up and took another long look around the room. In the cage next to his was "Diamond" Jozu, the Third Division commander. He had his usual stony expression on, but his dark skin seemed paler than normal, leading Izo to believe that his cage was made from kairoseki.

The cross dresser sat down and looked at the other two people in his cage. One was Eric, from his own division, and a Marine. Eric was sulking in a corner of the cage while the Marine was scowling into the air.

Eric turned suddenly and yelled, "This sucks! How the hell did something like this happen to the Whitebeard Pirates?"

Izo silently agreed with him. He felt ashamed he was unable to protect his family from danger, so he couldn't help but sympathize with the man.

The Marine also occupying the cell glanced up at the outraged pirate. "Chill, man. Getting mad won't change a damn thing about this." Izo admired the man's courage for standing up to a pirate, a Whitebeard for that matter, and he could see the sense in his words.

Eric did not, though. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"You think you're the only one upset about this?" The Marine snapped. "Don't forget your crew isn't the only one here."

Eric opened his mouth to say something else, but Izo beat him to it. "Eric," the kimono-clad man said warningly. "This gentleman is right. We shouldn't be wasting our time getting angry about something we can't control. We should be utilizing it to find a way out of here."

Eric sighed and sat back down quietly. The Marine was staring at Izo in shock. "Wait, you're a man?" He asked, practically shouted.

Izo felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation. "Of course I'm a man!" He shouted back.

"But...but you look like a woman!"

Izo groaned and knocked his head back against the bars of the cage. He silently prayed to God that someone would come and release him from the cage, and soon, before he strangled this unnamed Marine.

~...~

Across the circus grounds, Marco was praying the same prayer for a rescuer to come for him before he killed Carlyle or Ringmaster. The first ten minutes of their walk through the maze of mirrors were spent with the bedazzled man chattering non-stop about how grateful he was to the two men for sparing his life. After Marco snapped at him to shut up and lead them the right way, the next ten minutes were spent with the same bedazzled man excitedly telling Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes Marine about how he had set up the maze in the first place. Carlyle absorbed all of the information pouring out of the man's mouth, occasionally asking a question. Marco trailed quietly behind the two, silently making plans on how to incapacitate both of them and get off the island with his crew. He then remembered what Ringmaster had said about the log pose taking a whole week to reset, but then considered the kidnapper could easily have lied.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he walked into Carlyle's back. Marco stumbled back a couple steps while mumbling, "Why did you stop, yoi?"

Carlyle looked over his shoulder at the pirate. "I'm not sure." He answered. He looked at Ringmaster. "Is this the end of the maze? It looks like just another room to me."

It was another room, covered wall to wall in more mirrors. Marco scowled at the reflective surface beside him. His reflection scowled back at him, covered in scratches and bruises just like he was.

Ringmaster chuckled darkly. "Oh, we're almost there. There's just one more thing you two need to do."

Carlyle's blue eyes turned cold. "And that would be?" He asked, his voice low and dangerous. Behind him, Marco tensed himself and clenched his hands, preparing to summon his fire.

A sinister smile came onto the mustached man's face as the door behind them suddenly closed. Marco and Carlyle whirled around to watch it slam shut, then turned back and got into proper stances to fight whatever Ringmaster had set for them.

Out of the ceiling, suspended by marionette strings, came four clowns with swords and guns. Ringmaster smirked and addressed his prisoners with, "Well, gentlemen, I would love to say it's been fun, but it hasn't. So, I'm afraid I must-" His monologuing was abruptly cut off due to a punch to the nose with a flame-coated fist, courtesy of Marco. His punch sent the man flying back a few feet into his henchmen.

Ringmaster stood up with the help of his killer clowns. His nose was purple and swollen, which led Marco to believe he had actually broken it. The sparkle-suited man spat out blood and hissed, "You'll pay for that, brat. Get them!" He barked at his men. The clowns charged at the Marine and the pirate.

Carlyle and Marco took care of the clowns quickly. But when they stopped fighting, they noticed Ringmaster was no longer there. Carlyle, much to Marco's surprise, let out a long stream of curses.

"You two are a real thorn in my side," Ringmaster's voice said from behind them. They turned and saw him once again on the other side of a mirror. His voice was thick and and hard to understand due to his broken nose, but the prisoners got the gist of what he was trying to say. "I should have just killed you when I had the chance."

Carlyle lunged forward to see if he could jump through the mirror, but no such luck. The glass shattered and fell to the floor. Ringmaster then appeared in another mirror across the room. Before Carlyle could run at this one, Marco stopped him by holding out his arm. Carlyle snapped his head to look at the slightly shorter man to ask what he was doing, but the look on Marco's face stopped him.

In the space of about three seconds, Marco had gone from mildly irritated to simply livid. First, he wakes up to find not only has he been captured by a psychopath, but his family as well. He was totally helpless and couldn't protect them, and that ticked him off. Second, that brown-noser Marine shows up, and he can't even get a decent hit on him. Third, Ringmaster comes out of nowhere, and Marco is thrown at him like he is a bloody sack of potatoes. Lastly, (and this one really shouldn't have been a surprise) the guy leads them into a trap. Carlyle could literally feel the anger rolling off him in waves.

Marco raised his head to look Ringmaster in the eye. "The only one who is going to die today," he said slowly, "is you, yoi."

If looks could kill, Ringmaster was certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that he would be dead. He quickly wiped the apprehension from his face and sneered, "And how exactly are you going to manage that, boy? You are still trapped in there, and I have no intention of letting you out."

"I haven't figured that part out yet," Marco admitted. Carlyle's jaw dropped as he stared at him. "But make no mistake, I will get out of here, and once I do, I'm coming for you."

Ringmaster felt a shiver of fear run up his spine. This boy was simply insane, he concluded. There was no way he would find the exit to the Hall of Mirrors. He smirked at the pirate and said, "Let me know how that goes, brat," before disappearing from the mirror.

Marco clicked his tongue in annoyance. Despite the scared look on his face, Ringmaster had played it cool and pretended like he wasn't concerned about Marco's threat. Well, that would have to change. But there was just the small matter of getting out of this maze first.

Knowing what he had to do and not liking it one bit, Marco turned to Carlyle and stuck out his hand. "Truce," he said simply.

Carlyle looked at him, confused. "What?" He asked.

"We both have something to gain by getting out of here, yoi," Marco explained, "and neither of us can get what we want from staying here and fighting each other. We're going to need everything both of us has in order to find a way out. If we work together, we might just find a way out of here before anything horrible happens to our crews."

A feeling of understanding came over Carlyle as he examined the pirate in front of him. He realized what a blow to the other man's pride this must be, asking an enemy for help, but if it was for his crew, Marco would do anything. _What an incredible bond these pirates have, _he thought. _You certainly have interesting friends, Aerie_. In response, he stuck out his own hand and shook Marco's, sealing their momentary partnership.

Marco smiled at the Marine as they shook hands. Now that they were working together, they would be a near-unstoppable force. _You better watch out, Ringmaster. We're getting out of here, and I'm coming after you._ Aloud, he asked, "Any ideas as to how to escape?"

Carlyle gave a determined grin. "Actually, I do have one."

~...~

There was dead silence in the black environment Aerie and her father were in. The two stared at each other across the short distance separating them, Aerie with wide-eyed bewilderment, her father with calculating coolness.

Finally, she stuttered out, "D-dad? W-what are you doing here?"

Vice Admiral Tanaka Kobe shrugged. "Carlyle hadn't reported for a while, so I came to check on him. Imagine my surprise when I found you first."

Aerie could feel her heart pounding and every nerve in her body screaming at her to run, but she remained rooted to the ground in a sitting position. She wouldn't tell anyone, but this was what she feared the most: her father finally catching up to her. It was frightening enough when she was out on her own, but now with her crew, her family, to think of...

_Crap what do I do?_ She frantically thought. _Should I go quietly with him, or should I fight? I'd rather not do either, but if one option could save the rest of the crew, I'll take it._ Still, the odds were definitely not in her favor. If her father could go from the rank of captain to vice admiral in just four years, it was a sure testimony to his strength. She doubted even Marco could stand up to him.

Kobe sighed as he watched his only child struggle with her inner turmoil. "You look so much like your mother," he said quietly. Aerie was shocked at his statement. Her mother had always been a taboo subject in their house. He never mentioned her, and she never asked. The only acknowledgements to her existence were the photographs on the walls of their house.

Aerie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. He rather looked so...upset at the mention of his late wife. "Dad.." She started.

His brown eyes hardened. "Still, it's no excuse for your behavior. Honestly, Aerie, what were you thinking? Running away? Joining a pirate crew?"

She returned his gaze with a steely one of her own. "Don't pretend like you don't know why I left," she said angrily. "It was your fault! You led me to believe one thing my entire life, then completely changed it in one afternoon!"

"How did I do that?" He asked with deadly calm.

"You murdered a kid because his father was a pirate!" Aerie yelled at him.

"You know why I did what I did!" He yelled back. "For the sake of justice!"

"Is that what you call it? That's not justice to me! Children shouldn't be punished because of their parent's sins! If they were, I would deserve to die too!"

Kobe stared at her for a minute before stating, "Enough. We're done talking about this."

"We are so not done talking about this!" Aerie yelled. "How many others have you killed in the name of justice?"

"Do not accuse me of killing innocent people! Just how many innocent people do pirates, your friends, kill on a daily basis?"

Aerie was silent. She didn't think that comment deserved a response, and the look she was currently giving her father told him exactly that. He sighed again and ran a hand through his thick, brown hair. Aerie finally looked away and stared into the empty blackness around them.

"Where are we?" She wondered aloud. Kobe didn't answer. When she turned back to look at him, he had a blank expression on his face. "Dad?" She asked uncertainly. "Do you even know where we are?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he answered eventually. "We're on my ship. I'm taking you to Enies Lobby to be tried."

Aerie opened her mouth to tell him that this black environment was definitely not his ship, but stopped when the scene around them changed. Suddenly, she was in a cell of some sort, and he was on the other side.

Aerie's jaw dropped as she looked around at her new surroundings. "Wha-? How-?"

Kobe seemed unperturbed. "Like I said, on my ship. As much as I love our conversations, dear daughter, I have duties to attend to. If you'll excuse me." With that, he turned sharply on his heels and walked down the hallway. Aerie heard him go up some stairs, then his footsteps disappeared from her ears.

She sat back on her buttocks, confused more than before. When did she get on the ship? Why did everything change like that? And where was the rest of the crew if she was here? Aerie massaged her temples as her mind tried to make sense of what was happening.

Standing, she moved across the cell and looked through the bars of her cell. Out of tiredness, she put her forearm on them and leaned her head against it.

Or, at least, she tried to. As soon as she place her forehead on her arm, she passed right through the bars and fell to the floor. Grumbling in frustration, she pushed herself back onto her feet, now on the outside of the cell. This just gets weirder and weirder, she sighed, moving in the direction her father had went just moments ago.

~...~

Marco was really glad Carlyle had a plan. Even if it was wandering around the maze until they found a dead end. Because if they did it his way, he would burn the place to the ground, more than likely killing both of them. So Carlyle's plan, though it wasn't much, was infinitely better than his.

Speaking of the crocodile man's plan... "Why are we looking for a dead end, exactly, yoi?" Marco asked from behind Carlyle.

Carlyle turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder at him. "When I woke up, I was in a circular room without any exits. I got out by walking though a mirror."

Marco could see where his train of thought was leading. "So you're thinking we can get out the same way." Carlyle nodded and turned back around to watch where they were going. "But if you're right about that, couldn't any of these mirrors lead us out?"

Carlyle glanced at the mirrors to the left and right of him. "These are regular mirrors," he said with conviction.

"How do you know, yoi?"

In response, Carlyle touched his pointer finger to a mirror. "Look here," he said. "The reflection doesn't touch my real finger. On the mirror I walked through, the reflection and my finger touched." He removed his finger and resumed walking.

Marco stared at the mirror for another moment before following. He'd never admit it out loud, he would have completely missed a small detail such as that.

Yes, he was really glad Carlyle had a plan.

~...~

The ship was way too quiet. On any self-respecting Marine vessel, Aerie would be clapped in irons and led back to her cell as soon as she made it ten feet down the hallway. Not this one, though. There weren't any guards waiting around any corner, not even chore boys. In fact, there wasn't anyone on the ship at all.

Aerie managed to find her way to the deck of the ship. She tried breathing in the salty air over the ocean, but it seemed wrong. There wasn't any salty smell at all in this air, and she doubted it was because she was used to it.

The sky was wrong, too; it looked faded and washed-out, like an old photograph. And when she looked over the railing, the sea was the color of ink instead of sapphires.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, she moved back to the center of the ship. It certainly looked like a Marine ship, with its blue, green, and white color scheme, it just didn't feel like one with the lack of people. It felt...dead.

Briefly, Aerie wondered if she herself was dead, but then banished the thought. Wherever she was, she was pretty certain she was still alive. That being said, she tried to put her thoughts in order.

First, she woke up with a splitting headache in a completely black space. Her father appeared, and they talked. Next, the environment changed into a Marine ship, and her father left. Aerie was then able to leave her cell and spent the next hour wandering around the ship. During that hour, she didn't run into another person, not even her father.

Frustrated, she kicked the center mast of the ship. None of this made any sense! Why put her on a ship with no people?

Hearing a noise behind her, Aerie ducked as a sword embedded itself in the mast. She grimaced and turned to look back at her assailant, eyes widening when she saw who it was.

Tanaka Kobe scowled down at his only child as he held the sword in the mast. He curled his lip seeing he missed chopping off her head. Smoothly, he removed the sword from the wooden pole as if it wasn't buried halfway through it.

"Prepare yourself," was the only warning she got before he sliced again.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP._

~...~

Reginald Arthur Timberland George MacIntosh the Third liked to think of himself as extremely intelligent. No matter the circumstance, he could always outwit his adversary. He was a master chess player, being world-renowned for his spectacular strategies. At one point, he had been a military advisor for the Marines because of his brilliance of planning.

So why was it he was allowing those children to get to him? Never before had an enemy gotten under his skin so easily. With a shudder, he remembered the murderous look on Marco's face when he promised to kill him. Ringmaster had no doubt the boy would utterly destroy him if he was set free. Naturally, this could not be allowed to happen.

The boy must die, he decided. Not the slow death he arranged for the entirety of his crew, but a quick, thorough one. Perhaps a kairoseki bullet to the brain, in order to get past that annoying Devil Fruit of his. Or maybe just throwing him into the sea. Nevertheless, he would not live to see the next day.

Ringmaster frowned and walked to a medicine cabinet on the wall. He was in his office, one of his favorite places on the circus grounds. Here, he could completely focus on his work without the disturbance of anyone, save the occasional staff member. His work changed yearly, she. He decided he was done with his topic of research. Currently, he was in the drug business. Hallucinogens, sleeping drugs, poisons, name it, and he probably has it. He wanted to create the perfect mixture of drug that would affect a logia Devil Fruit user, whose bodies immediately healed from harmful substances of any sort. He would know; he has gone through a lot of test subjects trying to find the perfect solution.

A knock on his door roused Ringmaster from his thoughts. "Enter," he ordered calmly.

One of his clowns opened the door and came into the room. He bowed at the waist before stating, "Sir, the subject is reacting as you predicted. Her sympathetic nervous system has been activated by PB-97."

Ringmaster's smile widened. "Excellent." This was good news. PB-97 was a drug of his own creation, designed to increase reflex and reaction times to simuli. If he could get the perfect formula, he knew of at least one person who would pay him a handsome sum for it. "Increase the dosage, and record the result."

The clown nodded and left the room. Ringmaster sat at his desk once more to work on PB-97's formula, a childish smile on his face.

A couple doors down from Ringmaster's office was the laboratory, the rooms where his theoretical drugs were created and actually tested. Along the walls were counter spaces covered in beakers, chemicals, notes, and various medical tools. In different places of the spacious room were several movable tables, upon which had cages of unfortunate animals used as test subjects. Of course, animals could only tell so much about a drug's effect on the body. If one wanted to know the true effects, he would need to test them on a human. More often than not, this human was also an unwilling subject.

In an adjoining room to the laboratory was the human testing room. In the room were a couple of standard hospital beds, complete with heart rate monitors, I.V. stands, and oxygen pumps. Only ones of these beds was occupied at the moment, and it was to the bed that the clown moved.

There was a young woman sleeping in this bed. In her arm was an I.V. bag to keep her fully nourished, an oxygen tube in her nose, and a heart monitor attached to her chest underneath the hospital gown she wore. The only things that were not part of a hospital's normal tools were the leather straps binding her wrists, ankles, chest, and head to the bed.

The clown went to a cabinet beside this woman's bed, barely sparing her a sideways glance. He retrieved the bottle of PB-97 and injected a syringe into the top. He took into the syringe about twice than he had the last time she had been given an injection. Removing the syringe from the bottom, he walked to stand beside the young woman.

She was still showing the effects of the last dosage: hands clenched into fists, toes curled, and arm and leg muscles tensed, as though she were preparing to run. The clown rolled up her short sleeve and injected the syringe into her upper arm.

The drug took a couple minutes to take effect, but once it did, it was noticeable. The young woman's fists curled inward even more, and the muscles in her arms and legs flexed. The muscles on her face twitched as well. Pretty soon, she started spasming; back arching, arms jerking, and legs kicking. The clown pulled a chair up beside her bed and began recording the results of Ringmaster's latest experiment.

* * *

**I'm back! Sorry for the wait, schoo has been insane! I'm not swimming this month, so I should have some extra time for writing! Also, I have three minimu days next week, so this new chapter shouldn't take me long to get up. ^.^**

**So, in my art class, we were studying Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who made portraits of people out of everyday objects. We did the same thing by choosing a theme and selecting objects from this theme. We then Drew and shaded these objects into our profiles. You'll never guess what my theme was. That's right, I chose piracy! :D PM me if you want to see it!**

**Thoughts on the chapter? I know it's kind of short and may not make a lot of sense, but I honestly do have a plan to finish this arc, and soon!**

**Please follow, favorite, and (I can't ask for his one enough) REVIEW! See you later, friends!**

**~Batman**


	15. Chapter 14: Circus for a Psycho

**Tough chick: Dun dun DUN! Thanks for reviewing!**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: I'll guess you'll have to wait and see ;) Yes, Whitebeard is only sleeping. He's not dead. He's got twenty-two more years to live at this point. :-/ So tragic! Anyway, thanks for the review!**

**awannabewriter4years: Aw thanks!**

**Savage Kill: He he he... Who knows?! (Honestly, I only have a little bit of the next chapter planned out, and it's mostly action. I haven't decided on anything from there. I do, however, have a pretty good idea what the next island should be.) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Sleepyreader319: Aw thanks! They do make an interesting duet, don't they?**

**jonjames427: Nope! That was a complete coincidence. They probably didn't even see Whitebeard's ship, because it took the crew a couple more days after Aerie landed on it to even get back to Dōmei Island. Thanks for the review!**

**Guest: Errrr...who said it was Aerie? *sweatdrop* You may or may not be right.**

* * *

Chapter 14: Circus for a Psycho

They had done it. After walking around for half an hour, arguing over directions, and getting lost several times, they had finally found what they were looking for.

The mirror at the end of the hallway glimmered in the bright light from the ceiling. It was much more ornate than the others, complete with a gold frame around the edges.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "He might as well have painted 'exit' on it, yoi." He commented to the man standing beside him.

Carlyle gave him a wry grin. "Even if he had, it wouldn't have made it any easier to find." Marco snorted in agreement. Carlyle made a gesture towards the mirror. "Shall we?" He asked.

"Let's hope your theory works," Marco said. Together, they walked forward to the mirror.

Carlyle reached it first. He extended a hand to touch the glass. Instead of hitting a solid pane, it passed straight through. He grinned widely at Marco before walking through it. The Phoenix soon followed.

On the other side of the glass was a mercifully mirror-free hallway. It was painted a simple light brown, and the carpet underfoot was the same color. The hallway extended for another fifty feet and ended in another doorway. Doors, along with grotesque circus-themed paintings, lined each side of the hallway. As they walked, they tried each of the doors, only to find every one of them was locked.

Finally they reached the doorway at the end of the hall. Just as Carlyle was about to walk through it, Marco stopped him with an outstretched arm. The Marine turned to him, a question already on his lips, when Marco held up a single finger to his mouth.

Then, Carlyle heard it. A set of marching footsteps was entering the room beyond the doorframe. The two moved further back into the shadows to watch.

~...~

The air around Eliza, Thatch, and Illia was tense and silent. They had heard some guards running in the hallways branching off the room where their cage was. Something was going on, and it even put the clowns at unease.

Buruburuburuburuburu. The silence was broken by the ringing of a den-den mushi in one of the clowns' pockets. He dug it out of his colorful pants and answered it with a gruff, "Hello? Who is this?"

_"This is Ringmaster."_ The voice belonging to the person on the other line responded. The two clowns stiffened. _"We have a bit of a problem. The two prisoners in the Hall of Mirrors escaped. Be on the lookout for two men, both blonde and of average height. They also have Devil Fruit abilities. They couldn't have gone far."_

"Yes sir, Ringmaster. They won't get any farther than us."

_"See that they don't. That is all."_ The snail went back to sleep as Ringmaster dropped the call. The clown spun the dial on the shell to make another.

The line was picked up on the third ring. _"This is 8-Ball,"_ the voice said.

"8-Ball, send some reinforcements down to the basement of the Big Top. We have some escaped Devil Fruit users on their way here." The clown instructed.

_"We can only send four. The rest are on the ground floor with the other prison_ers."

"Roger that." The line went dead again.

Both clowns reached into their pockets and loaded their weapons. Now, they took to walking around the full perimeter of the room instead of standing in place, no doubt preparing for the escapees to come through one of the hallways.

In the cage, Eliza, Illia and Thatch exchanged glances. Two blonde Devil Fruit users? They each had their suspicions who they could be. They all prayed that they wouldn't be stupid enough to walk through such an obvious trap.

Before long, another four clowns joined the incumbent guards if the three prisoners. The two originals filled them in on why they were called to the room. However, once they stopped talking, another set of voices came out of one of the adjoining hallways.

"Well, maybe if your plan wasn't so obvious, they wouldn't have seen us coming, yoi!" One voice, a man from the sounds of it, exclaimed. Eliza and Thatch facepalmed.

"I got us out of there, didn't I?" Another man argued back. Sergeant Major Illia sighed in exasperation. The clowns looked at each other and nodded. Moving quietly, they surrounded the hallway from which the voices originated from.

"You are surrounded! Come out of the hallway with your hands up!" One of the clowns ordered. Silence came from the hallway. A bright light began to accumulate in the shadows beyond the doorway. Suddenly, an electric blue flame erupted from the doorway, instantly burning and locking unconscious three of the six. Thatch and the two women dove to the floor of the cage to avoid the flame blasting over their heads.

"OI!" Thatch shouted. "STOP TRYING TO KILL US, YOU MORON!"

His response came in the form of Captain Carlyle charging through the charred doorway, breaking it in the process. He was in his full crocodile form as he slammed into two of the remaining clowns at full speed. He knocked them to the ground, causing them to lose consciousness. The final clown was frantically reaching into his pocket for his den-den mushi to call for help, but Carlyle took care of him by slamming him into the wall with his tail.

As Carlyle shrunk down to his original form, Marco walked out of the hallway with his hands in his pockets. "Good teamwork," he congratulated the Marine.

A vein appeared on Carlyle's forehead as he sighed. "You hardly did anything," he muttered.

"Au contraire, mon ami*. As you can see," he gestured to the burned, unconscious clowns, "I clearly took care of these three."

Carlyle was about to snap a reply when he was cut off by Thatch. "If you two are done, can you please let us out of here?"

For the first time, Marco and Carlyle seemed to notice their imprisoned comrades. It suddenly dawned on them that they weren't the only still-conscious people in the room. They also noticed the large cage their friends were in.

"Ah," Marco said, "right. On it." He summoned a flame into his hand and grabbed the lock on the door. Eventually the lock heated to the point that it melted in his palm. Thatch, Eliza, and Illia filed out of the cage.

Eliza crossed her arms and looked up at the commander. "Took you long enough," she muttered. "How long were you going to stand there before you actually let us out?"

Marco rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, yoi. I didn't even see you." Thatch, Eliza and Illia deadpanned.

Illia shook her head and looked at her superior. "All's well, Captain?"

"Well enough," Carlyle answered. "We need to find the crew and get off this island right away."

"Thanks for nothing, Captain Obvious," Thatch said sarcastically. "But we don't even know where they are."

"The ground floor of the Big Top," Illia and Eliza answered at the same time.

"How did you know that?"

"The clown on the den-den said it not ten minutes ago!" Answered Eliza exasperatedly.

"Even I heard it out in the hallway," muttered Carlyle.

"Alright, alright!" Marco yelled. "We're not going to get anywhere if we keep arguing like this!" The group became silent. "Listen, Crocodile Tears is right: we have to find our crews and leave, yoi. Now, we know they're on the floor of the Big Top and we're in the basement. Let's find some stairs and get to the others before Ringmaster finds out that you three escaped too."

"Oi, who're you calling Crocodile Tears, you bird-brain?!"

Thatch looked around the room at the different hallways. "Well, that's a nice plan, but how do we know where to start?"

Eliza and Illia pointed down the hallway directly behind him. He turned around and sighed. "Let me guess..."

"That's where the guards came from," the women answered at the same time.

"So we've got a plan, let's get moving!" Marco said, taking off at a run down the hallway.

"Right!" The other four prisoners shouted, running after him.

~...~

Aerie barely avoided the swing of her father's sword. For the past few minutes, he had been swiping at her, seemingly intending to maim, seriously injure, or even kill her. It was frustrating, exhausting, and most of all, confusing. As much as her dad was unhappy with her, Aerie never once believed he would kill her. Arrest her, yes. Forgive her, maybe. But kill her?

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn't dodge his next swipe. She jumped out of the way, a month of training with Marco finally kicking in. The sword sliced another long line into the wooden deck of the ship. Aerie grimaced, trying not to think what would have happened to her body if she hadn't dodged in time.

"Why are you doing this?" She yelled at her father.

Tanaka Kobe took another swipe at her. "All pirates should be killed for the sake of justice!" He yelled back. He managed to back her into the center mast. Pointing the tip of the sword at her throat, he calmly said, "You cast your lot in with them when you joined Whitebeard's crew. Being my daughter will do nothing to protect you now."

Aerie gasped as she felt the cold steel touch her neck. This couldn't be the end!

Kobe drew his arm back. Aerie closed her eyes.

~...~

Marco and the others ran through the basement of the Big Top. The hallway seemed to extend forever, an endless walkway of locked doors and creepy paintings. Finally, they came to a set of stairs leading up. None of them paused their running, so set were they on freeing their imprisoned comrades.

At the top of the stairs were two optional paths: a large set of doors or another flight of stairs. Marco ran up the stairs without waiting to consult the others.

This set of stairs led to a balcony overlooking an arena-like room. The Phoenix looked down over the balcony railing and grinned.

They had found the Big Top's ground floor. And on it were dozens of cages, each having three or four pirates and Marines inside. As he turned to go back down the stairs and tell his groupies of their good fortune, he was met with the steel barrel of a rifle. His eyes traveled from the gaping black hole to the person holding it.

It was one of the clown guards. Marco's grin widened as he saw the apprehension on the clown's face.

"Put your hands up!" The painted man ordered. Still grinning, Marco raised his hands.

~...~

Down on the floor of the Big Top, Izo was planning his escape. He managed to pull a bobby pin from his hair and he plotted to use it to pick the lock on the cage he was in.

However, his plan was shot as soon as something fell on the top of his cage, startling him enough to break the bobby pin in the lock. Spitting out a curse, he looked upset the offending object on the roof of his cage.

Izo's eyes bugged out of his head. On the top of his cage was a very beat up clown guard. His face was completely smashed in and his skin almost looked burnt. Smoke slowly drifted form his body.

The clown groaned and Izo let out a surprise shout. _How is he still alive?!_ He mentally screamed.

The noise from the cage drew the attention of other guards. They ran there, only to see their defeated comrade. In a rage, they looked up to the balcony, where two more clowns were being tossed carelessly over the railings. These falling clowns were followed by none other than Marco the Phoenix.

He landed safely on the top of one of the cages. Mixed cries of "Marco!" and "Commander!" were heard around the room. The blonde man grinned at the remaining clowns as he cracked his knuckles.

Defeating the guards only took a couple minutes. Something like this would have been difficult were he not a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. After he was finished, all of their unconscious bodies were piled in the middle of the giant room. Marco stood on the top of the pile with his hands on his hips with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Ah ha!" He laughed. "Too easy, yoi!"

"If it was so easy, why didn't you come earlier, brat?" A deep voice rumbled. All heads in the room turned to the largest cage in the Big Top. Whitebeard sat in it, with his arms crossed and a frown on his large face. The only thing that gave away what he was really thinking was the amused glint in his yellow eyes.

Marco rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Eh, sorry about that. I got caught up in a maze."

Suddenly, the large doors burst open, and Thatch, Eliza, Illia, and Carlyle burst through with battle cries. Of course, they stopped their yelling once they saw Marco had already beat up the clowns. Thatch huffed in annoyance and glared at his brother.

"Couldn't let anyone have anyone else have fun, could you?" He grumbled. "Just have to have the glory all to your self, eh, Marco?"

"Will you stop standing around and let us out already?!" Shouted all of the remaining prisoners.

"Huh?" Marco looked around the room. "Oh, yeah, sure. The keys must be around here somewhere."

Within moments, the keys had been found and the prisoners finally freed. They all stood now as a large group beside the pile of clowns. The Division commanders, along with Carlyle and Illia, stood in the front of the crowd in a semicircular formation around Whitebeard.

"What's the plan now, Pops?" Asked Rakuyo, the Seventh Division commander.

Whitebeard hummed in thought. Before he could answer, a crew member named Jason shouted, "Let's give 'em hell! We'll show them the reason no one messes with the Whitebeard Pirates!" The other pirates cheered wildly at this suggestion.

"I'm game with that, yoi," said Marco while pounding his fist into his hand. "I've got a score to settle with Ringmaster before we leave." Carlyle nodded in agreement.

Whitebeard grinned maniacally. "All right, then!" He shouted. "Ransack the place and burn it to the ground! Once that's finished we'll load up onto the ship and I'll sink it! No one crosses us and lives to tell the tale!" The entire group cheered now, pirates and Marines alike.

"Honestly, pull yourselves together," Illia snapped at the other Marines. "Stop acting like a bunch of hooligans! We're Marines, not pirates!"

"With all due respect, Sergeant Major," one brave private called out. "We're technically off duty!"

"Yes, but-" Illia was cut off by a hand on her shoulder. She cast a confused and irritated look at Carlyle, who chuckled.

"They're right you know," he said. "Isn't that what you've been saying this whole time?"

It was then Marco realized something, or someone, was missing. He quickly looked around him, but he couldn't see the familiar brown haired, golden eyed woman from his division. Eliza noticed the slightly panicked look on his face with concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked, gripping his arm to get his attention.

Marco whipped his head from side to side, rapidly scanning the crowd. "Aerie," he said. "She's not here."

Emerald green eyes widened as she took in what he said. She looked around them too, glancing about for her best friend. "Aerie?" She called, hoping for an answer. Marco joined in calling her name, and they began to make their way through the crowd to find her. It was soon clear, though, that Aerie was not there.

Marco ran up to Whitebeard and said, "Pops! Aerie's missing!"

The captain narrowed his eyes. "What?" He growled.

"She isn't here, yoi! She must be somewhere else on the fairgrounds!"

Whitebeard grunted and turned back to the rambunctious group. "Listen up, men!" Instantly, the room was silent. "One of our own, Tanaka Aerie, is missing! As you trash the island, look for her! She must still be here!" As soon as he was done talking, Marco ran from the room, flying past his friends out the large set of doors.

"Where are you going?" Thatch asked as he ran past.

"I'm going after Ringmaster!" Marco called back. "He's gonna pay for what he's done."

Hot on Marco's heels was Carlyle. He soon caught up to the First Division commander, whose jaw dropped. "What do you think you're doing?" He all but screamed at the Marine captain.

Carlyle rolled his eyes. "If you think you're the only one with a vendetta, you're wrong."

"Stay out of my way, yoi! This is my fight!"

"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that!"

~...~

Ringmaster had a problem. A very serious problem, and it was all thanks to those escaped prisoners. Oh, he knew he should've have killed those two men when he had the chance, just to set an example to the others. But, now they've escaped and set everyone free.

In front of him, various screens displayed images from video den-den mushis, none of them pleasant. The pirates and the Marines appeared to have formed a temporary alliance and were using it to destroy his island. He growled in frustration and slammed a fist down in the table in front of him.

"Sir!" A voice from behind him called.

"What is it?" He snapped irritably. This had better be good, or he might kill the poor man.

"The serum sir! It's ready!" Ringmaster turned around and took the vial from the clown's hand. In the vial was a clear liquid. To anyone but Ringmaster, it would have looked like regular water.

Grinning maniacally, he cackled and held it up to the light. "Excellent," he hissed. "You're sure you made it exactly as I instructed?"

"Absolutely, sir! The necessary modifications were made, just as you ordered!"

Ringmaster cackled again. "Splendid, splendid!" He uncorked the vial and tipped it backwards into his mouth. In one gulp, he had swallowed the vial's entire contents. "Let's see how they like this!" He crowed.

Already, the serum's effects were taking place. He could feel a burning in his muscles as his body began to change. He hunched over as a spasm rocked his body. He waved the clown who rushed to his aid off with one hand.

"What should we do with the test subject, sir?" He was asked once he straightened up.

Ringmaster sent the man a cold glance. "Kill her, of course. She has outlived her usefulness," came the brisk reply. The clown saluted and rushed out of the room to fulfill his order.

Ringmaster grinned to himself as he looked back at the display screens. He found one in particular very interesting. That pirate brat and the Marine captain were running through a hallway in the Big Top, arguing amongst themselves. He watched them reach the exit to the massive tent and run out onto the fairgrounds before he turned away. The pirate did say he would come after him. The show he had put up on the island was slowly coming to a close. And what was a proper show without a good fight? Ringmaster cackled once more as he made his way out o ft he surveillance room and out into the hallway, his black boots clipping harshly on the steel floor.

And so it begins...

~...~

One floor up from the surveillance room was the laboratory where the test subject slept fitfully, almost as if she was aware her time was near. Her body, still restrained by leather straps, jerked from side to side, and the eyes beneath closed lids twitched. In the same room, one of Ringmaster's clowns was preparing an injection that would end her life. He quickly searched his cabinets to find a suitable poison. Finally, he found the perfect one. Ironically, a small dose of it had been used to make the formula for PB-97. Carefully, the clown poured the toxin into a syringe. He rolled his chair to the woman's bedside, rolled up her sleeve, and plunged it into her upper arm as he had before.

~...~

After much debate, Marco and Carlyle decided to check the Haunted House, an ominous, old-looking building close to the Big Top. They chose this building because a.) they had already been in the Hall of Mirrors and b.) they seriously doubted Ringmaster would be hiding in the kids' area of the fairgrounds.

Inside the Haunted House was just as creepy as the outside. The walls were all designed to look as though they were rotting, the furniture looked disgusting and old, and cobwebs were strung through various places. Also along the walls and floors were splotches of dark red, which could or could not have been fake blood.

"This is gross," muttered Marco, examining a bookcase with water-damaged books.

"I'll say," agreed Carlyle. Frowning, he looked around the room. "Although, this doesn't make any sense. This building from the outside looks like it has at least three floors, but there aren't any stairs. Look around, maybe there's a hidden set somewhere."

Marco snorted and leaned on the bookcase. "Yeah, right, because this whole scenario can't get any more cliche, yoi." As he said this, the bookcase began to swing forward on unseen hinges, causing him to loose his balance and nearly fall over. "Oh, you have got to be freaking kidding me!" Behind the bookcase, of course, was a set of steel stairs leading upward.

Carlyle shot him a smug smirk and began climbing the stairs. They reached the next floor and walked down the hallway, pausing to look for their quarry in the rooms. They passed a surveillance room, where screens displayed their comrades completely destroying the island. They also located their ships in the bay, right where they had been docked. However, Ringmaster was not on this floor, they determined.

The two men found another set of stairs going up and climbed them. This floor was almost entirely dark, save for one room at the end of the hallway. Out of this room one man walked, drying his hands on his polka-dotted pants.

Marco reached the clown first. He grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the nearest wall. "Where's Ringmaster, yoi?" He demanded harshly.

"How should I know?" The clown responded. As Marco raised his fist to hit him, he held up his hands in surrender. "Wait, wait please! I'm just a chemist!"

"Then tell me what I want to know, before I lose my temper!"

Meanwhile, Carlyle had wandered into the room, which he discovered was a laboratory of some sort. He paid little attention of the animal cages and instead focused on the colorful vials and beakers on the tables. He glanced to the far wall, where he noticed the door to the adjoining room was slightly ajar. He walked to the door and opened it, a feeling of dread suddenly filling him. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened in horror as he saw what was in the room.

It was Aerie, deathly still, strapped to a hospital-style bed.

Carlyle got over his shock and scrambled to her side. His shaking hands fumbled with the leather straps, and a curse fell out of his mouth. Hastily, he barked out, "Marco, you need to get in here now!"

Out in the hall, Marco heard his temporary ally's voice. The chemist he was holding was babbling nonsense about how he didn't know where Ringmaster had gone, so he snapped at him to shut up. He dragged the man by the collar into the laboratory, immediately spotting the side room that Carlyle had disappeared into.

"What is it, yoi?" Marco growled. His glare turned toward the bed that Carlyle was frantically hunched over. He shifted slightly to get a better look at what the man was hurriedly freeing. His grip tightened on the scientist's shirt until his knuckles turned white. The muscles in his body tensed and a deadly aura began emanating from him. Then, suddenly, he turned and threw the scientist through the wall behind them. Angrily, he stalked through the new hole in the wall to once again lift the man up by the collar of his shirt.

"What the hell did you do to her?" He asked the dazed man. His voice was strangely calm, as was his expression. But even the scientist could tell it was merely the calm that came before the storm hit.

Somehow knowing his hours, possibly minutes, on earth were now reduced significantly, the scientist gulped. "R-ringmaster. He ordered the testing of an experimental substance, PB-97, on the woman there." Seeing Marco's eyes darken made him quickly spit out, "I was told only to record the results of the testing and give her the dose. Nothing else!"

By now, Carlyle had finished freeing Aerie from her restraints. He put his first two fingers on her neck in hopes of feeling a pulse. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he felt one. It seemed unnaturally fast, though. Her chest was also rising and falling quickly, another sign of life. His gaze wandered to the countertop on the wall close to the bed. A couple of empty bottles and vials were neatly arranged along one edge of the counter. Carlyle walked to this counter and examined on of these bottles. Upon hearing the scientist's last statement and seeing the label on the bottle, Carlyle instantly knew the man was lying. He took one of the bottles and chucked it as hard as he could at him, causing the glass to shatter against his head.

"Liar," he growled. When Marco sent him a questioning glance, he elaborated. "Aerie's poisoned. We need to get her out of here before she..." Carlyle didn't finish the sentence, but Marco got the message.

The Phoenix's eyes were ablaze with fury. It took him about two seconds to come up with a solution. "Get her to the _Moby Dick_," he ordered. "One of the nurses can get the antidote if you get there quickly."

For once, Carlyle didn't argue. He gently lifted Aerie off the bed and held her bridal-style, with one arm supporting her back and the other behind her knees. He rushed from the room, passing a "Kick his ass" to Marco as he left.

Marco turned back to the clown in his grasp, who by now was trembling. "'Nothing else', eh, yoi? I think you have some explaining to do, buddy."

Somehow, the clown knew their discussion would not be pleasant.

~...~

Carlyle easily retraced his steps through the Haunted House, finding his way back to the ground floor quickly. He moved as fast as he could while trying to not jostle Aerie too much. Even so, he still didn't feel as if he was moving fast enough.

He ran through the fairgrounds to the pier where the _Moby Dick_ was docked. So caught up was he in his task that he missed the pirates and the Marines around him, fighting the odd clown or two and completely wrecking the circus. He was only wrenched from his concentration when he heard his name being called.

Not stopping, he turned his head to see Illia, Eliza, and Thatch waving at him. He paused momentarily, remembering something. He called out, "Ms. Eliza, I need you to come with me!"

Eliza gave a confused look to her two companions before asking, "Why? What's wrong? And where's Marco?"

"I don't have time to explain, just come with me, please! I can tell you on the way!"

"Alright, lad, I'm coming." She jogged to where Carlyle was standing. As soon as she joined him, he took off running again. "Where are we going? And what are you-my God! Is that-?"

"Yes. We're going to your ship. Marco told me to take her there, thinking one of you nurses could save her." Seeing another questioning look on her face, Carlyle explained further. "She was poisoned and experimented on. She was almost dead when we found her."

Eliza's expression hardened. "I see. I'll go on ahead and get the infirmary ready." Without another word, she dashed ahead, disappearing from Carlyle's sight within seconds.

Carlyle continued to run on. _Don't worry Aerie, _he thought_. We'll save you. You will live!_

~...~

Now that he had finished with the scientist, Marco set out to find the man he was originally after: Ringmaster. The clown mentioned something along the lines of Ringmaster possibly being on the roof before Marco had beaten him bloody. The guy deserved it, after everything he had done to his family.

Thinking of Aerie like that, so quiet and still, literally made Marco sick. Aerie wasn't ever still, she was constantly moving, and the woman was certainly never quiet. It was so unnatural to see her like that, and Marco hoped to never see it again.

Of course, once he took care of Ringmaster, that shouldn't be an issue.

Eventually, he found a staircase that had a metal door at the top. He pushed open the door and found himself on the roof of the Haunted House. There, at the edge of the roof was Ringmaster, in all of his bedazzled, lime green glory.

"I've been waiting for you, brat," Ringmaster said without turning around.

Marco grinned. "Well, sorry for making you wait, old man."

"I only assume you were delayed by the discovery of your friend." Marco's grin disappeared and was replaced by a harsh scowl. "I must say, she did make an excellent test subject. She was healthy and strong, two qualities I needed to experiment my latest creation."

"You're going to pay for that, and for everything else, yoi. I won't let you get away with what you've done to my family!" Marco growled, lighting one of his hands on fire.

Ringmaster turned his head and looked over his shoulder at him. There was a maniacal grin on his face and a sinister gleam in his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure you won't," he purred.

~...~

The docks were in sight, just at the bottom of the small hill he was on. He ran to the pier, straight for the largest ship in the harbor. To his relief, Eliza had left the gangplank down, allowing him easy access to the deck of the massive ship.

Carlyle wasn't sure what he was expecting to see once he climbed to the deck of the _Moby Dick_. He probably didn't expect it to look so...clean. And it was eerily silent, an uncommon occurrence for a pirate ship.

He stood at the railing of the ship, unsure of where to go. Eliza had told him she would meet him here in the infirmary, but she had neglected to mention where the infirmary actually was. Luckily, the redhead emerged from the bowels of the ship a moment later, motioning him to follow her.

Eliza led him through the belly of the ship until they came to the infirmary door. One of the beds in the room was surrounded by machinery, so Carlyle gently set Aerie there. As soon as she was down, Eliza began hooking her up to the I.V. stand and the heart rate monitor. A slow heartbeat showed up on the machine, much to the relief of the two of them.

Eliza moved to one of the counters lining the walls and took a few bottles of liquid from the cabinets. She turned to Carlyle and asked, "Do you know what kind of poison it was? I can't make the right antidote unless I know what it is I'm tryin' to save her from."

Mind racing, Carlyle tried to recall the label on the bottle he had examined. What was on it? Atrophy... "Atropa belladonna!" He remembered.

Eliza's eyes widened. "The nightshade? Let's see, that means I'm gonna need diazepam and physostigmine. Hopefully, I'll have enough to save her life." She opened various cabinets, trying to find the drugs. "Unfortunately, she can't take them by mouth, so I'll have to make a solution of it. Laddie, help me out and find some nicotine. I should have some in here. That should help with her coma."

Carlyle searched the cabinet's contents until he found what the nurse wanted. He handed the addictive substance to her, which she accepted with a nod of thanks. Knowing he really couldn't be of any more use, he stood back and let her do her work.

~...~

Marco and Ringmaster stood across the roof, fully facing each other. Neither man had yet made a move against the other, each sizing up his opponent. The rooftop was silent, save for the explosions and the yelling coming from the ground.

Marco couldn't stand the silence. He was so angry at the man across the roof from him. Without warning, he charged forward, fist alight with blue flame. To his surprise, Ringmaster easily sidestepped and hit him in the back with his elbow. Marco grunted and tried to turn around to strike again, only for Ringmaster to dodge again.

Frustrated, Marco sent a burst of flame in his direction. This time, it hit the man's precious green coat, instantly igniting the green fabric. The jacket was shrugged off and tossed to the side.

"Careful, boy," Ringmaster chided, "you could have killed me."

Something in Marco snapped. He launched himself forward, aim g a swift punch for Ringmaster's face. He didn't have time to react, and the fist connected with a satisfying crunch, breaking the man's nose for the second time that night. Ringmaster tumbled backwards, flipping head over heels until he came to a stop. He rose to his feet.

"I could have killed you?" Marco asked quietly. "You tricked us into staying on the island. You drugged us. Your men took mine off of our ship and put us in traps. You used my friend as a lab rat. I'm not leaving here without your head!" He charged forward again.

Ringmaster frowned and nimbly dodged out of the way of Marco's punches and kicks. His body was moving fast, faster than it should have. He could feel the effects of PB-97 begin to settle in, more than they had before. With a grin, he sidestepped Marco's punch and delivered on of his own to the Phoenix's gut.

The breath flew from Marco's lungs. In his moment of weakness, Ringmaster delivered a kick to the head that cause him to tumble backwards and land on his back. Ringmaster jumped into the air and landed with his foot on Marco's chest.

"You cannot defeat me, brat," he declared. "I have been modified. My body is changed, reborn. That is the beauty of PB-97, a steroid of my own design." He leaned over slowly in order to see Marco's face better in the dim evening light. "I am faster and stronger than you. Give up and die!" He lashed out with his foot again, sending the younger man careening into the metal door leading downstairs.

Marco's vision went black around the edges from the force of the hit. Suddenly, a series of images flashed in front of his eyes. Izo chasing down Thatch for the latter replacing his face powder with powdered sugar. Eliza and the other nurses chiding Pops for drinking too much. Finally, there was Aerie, lying so pale and still. His family. His reasons to fight this man. He spit out blood and got to his feet. "You may be right, yoi. You may be faster than me, and you may be stronger. But they're my family, and if I can't protect them, then I don't deserve to be part of the crew!" With this exclamation, he activated his Devil Fruit powers, lighting both of his arms on fire.

Ringmaster frowned. This brat was proving to be troublesome indeed. He put himself in a defensive stance.

With a battle cry, Marco charged forward again, swinging his left arm back. His flame-coated fist connected with Ringmaster's forearm, much to his annoyance. Not to say the blow didn't hurt, though. The older man gritted his teeth and pushed Marco back. Marco landed on his feet and attacked again. He punched and kicked at him, only to have his blows blocked each time.

Finally, the young commander saw a flaw in Ringmaster's defense. Whenever Marco swung at him, his body leaned into whichever side the blow came from, leaving him temporarily defenseless on one side. Seeing this, Marco quickly formulated a plan.

He sent a kick to Ringmaster's right side. As expected, the older man blocked it. However, he couldn't react in time to the flaming punch to his opposite side. Marco grinned, having successfully landed a hit.

Ringmaster saw his expression and scowled. "Don't get cocky, brat. It'll take more than one hit to kill me."

Marco only grinned further. He had Ringmaster's number, and there was no stopping him now. He moved forward again and used the same move as before, this time kicking him in the ribs.

Now Ringmaster was really angry. How dare this mere boy challenge him? With a snarl, he lunged forward and tried to hit Marco in the face with a punch.

Marco had gotten smarter, though. He ducked under the fist and punched Ringmaster in the chest. The breath left his lungs, leaving him momentarily stunned. Marco took full advantage of this and sent blow after blow his way. Ribs, face, throat, jaw, all were hit in the next flurry of punches. With a ferocious yell, Marco sent one last spinning kick to the side of Ringmaster's head and the older man crumpled to the ground.

Panting, Ringmaster lay there in utter stupefaction. Eventually he gasped out, "How...did you...defeat me...boy? I am...stronger...and smarter than you."

Marco looked down on his former captor with a cold look in his eyes. "Because I'm the older brother." Leaning down, he grasped the man's head and shoulder in his hands. "And no one hurts with my family without hearing from me." After a sickening snap, Ringmaster knew no more.

~...~

Everyone was at the docks, rapidly preparing their respective ships for a prompt departure. Superiors on both sides were shouting orders to their subordinates in order while they themselves fulfilled tasks necessary for getting ready to leave. Once that was settled, both crews began boarding their ships.

The last to board his ship was Marco, who came casually strolling down the hill, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a bag that appeared to be dripping some sort of liquid. Not in any particular hurry, he calmly walked up the gangplank and stood in front of the man he viewed as a father. He tossed the bag to Whitebeard's feet.

The behemoth of a man raised an eyebrow at his First Division commander. "Eh? What's this, Marco?"

Marco shrugged noncommittally. "Open it and find out for yourself, yoi. I'll warn you though, it isn't pretty."

Frowning, Whitebeard bent over and examined the contents of the bag. His eyebrows shot up again. "Ah." He said after a moment of tense silence. "I see. Any particular reason at all you brought me this?"

"Not really. Just figured you'd want to know the problem was taken care of." Marco put his empty hand in his other pocket.

The other crew members present didn't have to try very hard to imagine what their brother had put in the bag. After another tense moment of staring between commander and captain, Whitebeard said, "Very well, then. Might as well chuck it over board. Some fish might enjoy it. I sure as hell don't want it staining the deck any more than it has."

Shrugging again, Marco picked the bag up and tossed it out into the sea, where it floated for a few seconds before sinking beneath the waves. Whitebeard straightened up and looked at his family. "All right kids, let's ship off! Once we're far enough away, I'll sink this miserable rock! Gurararara!"

The crew scrambled to fulfill his order, with various response of "Aye, sir!" and "Sure thing, Pops!"

The Marine ship was leaving port as well. On deck, Sergeant Major Illia gave several orders to her men. The two ships left the burning island together.

True to his word, once they were a sizable distance away, Whitebeard sank the island. All it took was cracking the air with his massive bisento before the island spilt in half and slipped beneath the waves. Both crews, pirates and Marines alike, gave an excited cheer.

With a hearty laugh, Whitebeard declared, "Weigh anchor, lads! We're gonna celebrate!" The crew gave another cheer and scurried to prepare their party.

"Mind if we join you?" A voice from the Marine ship asked. The entire crew, sans Illia, was lined at the railing closest to the Moby Dick.

Whitebeard laughed again. "Not at all, brat! The more the merrier!"

The Marines eagerly began to drop anchor and join the pirates. While the beginnings of the celebration were happening, Marco slipped unnoticed beneath the deck.

Silently, the First Division commander walked to the infirmary with his hands in his pockets. Once he reached the door, he was surprised to hear voices inside. It was Carlyle and Eliza, quietly sitting and chatting in rollable chairs. In a bed not far away from them, Aerie slept. This time, her sleep was peaceful and unlabored. Her skin had regained some of it's color and the muscles in her body were relaxed. Smiling a bit, Marco crossed the threshold and entered the room.

His sudden arrival caused Carlyle to jump and turn his head quickly in his direction, but Eliza merely looked up as if she expected him to come. He crossed the room and stood beside Aerie's bed. "I'm beginning to think we should just reserve a bed for her permanently, yoi," he mused, "since she seems to always find her way back here."

Eliza snorted in amusement and rolled her eyes. "Aye, she does, doesn't she. Girl certainly has a penchant for findin' trouble, eh Marco?"

Marco chuckled. "That she does," he agreed with a smirk. "They're having a party up there, you know. Sounds like it's going to be lively."

"Ach, those morons! One of these days they'll find out the hard way that partyin' and injuries do not mix." Eliza flopped back in her chair with a grumpy expression.

Speaking of injuries... Carlyle glanced at Marco. Overall, he didn't seem to have any. This wasn't surprising since the Phoenix could heal himself. He cleared his throat and stood up. "I need to go check on my crew. I'll see you guys later." He made his way to the door.

As he was about to open it, he heard Eliza ask, "Say, Marco, what happened to Ringmaster? I didn't see him as we were destroyin' the island."

Carlyle noticed the dark shadow that passed momentarily over the man's face. Marco looked away from her and stared at Aerie before replying, "I took care of him. Don't worry about it."

Carlyle felt a shiver run up his spine at his face and his words. However, if Eliza was surprised, she didn't show it. Excusing himself once more, Carlyle left the infirmary and found his way back to the deck and joined the crews in their festivities.

* * *

***Au contraire, mon ami: on the contrary, my friend.**

**Question: How do you know when it's the end of an arc in this story?**

**Answer: When the chapter is 2,000 words longer than normal. :-/**

**For anyone who is curious, Aerie's poison, atropa belladonna, is an actual plant. Like Eliza said, it is one of the deadly nightshades. The symptoms of belladonna poisoning include dilatedpupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. (Thanks Wikipedia!) From this plant, the metal atropine is extracted. Atropine causes the same symptoms if overdosed, but is helpful if one has a slow heart rate, as it magnifies the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. And yes, that fancy word Eliza used is really the cure, and nicotine helps with treatment.**

**Thoughts? Feelings? Drop a review! Favorite and follow! See you next time!**

**~Batman**


	16. Chapter 15: Celebration!

**Son of Whitebeard: Yes! The Whitebeards win again! I don't know, but I think that's a good idea :) am I sensing another plot line here? Thanks for the review!**

**Guest: Was I too obvious? Ha, thanks for the review, as always!**

**Savage Kill: What, who, me? Sadistic enough to hurt my own characters? Pssh never! Haha, but seriously, I've noticed that too, both here and in other fics. Too Mary Sue-ish? I think so. Don't worry, Aerie won't be the only one getting injured from now on! It's just hard to hurt the others since they're so strong in the first place. Oh, well, I'll think of something. Yeah, I think he'd do that too. Actually, I think any self-respecting pirate in the One Piece world would do that for his or her own crew. And are you implying that he's only mad because Aerie was hurt? ;) Who knows?! Only time will tell. Anyway, as always, thanks for the lovely review, buddy! :D**

* * *

Chapter 15: Celebration!

Aerie groggily opened her golden eyes. Much to her surprise, she was in the infirmary on board the Moby Dick. She tentatively reached a hand up to her neck to discover her head was still securely connected to the rest of her body.

Was it just a dream? She wondered to herself.

Hearing a soft grunt, she turned her head to the side, where she saw Marco gently sleeping in the chair beside her bed. It occurred to her she had never seen him sleep. In fact, she hadn't seen him be anything but alert and observant. He looked so peaceful, his normally lethargic and sarcastic face changed into a calm expression. His tense muscles were relaxed and at ease. With a small blush, Aerie realized Marco was actually quite handsome when he wasn't making some snarky remark or being bossy.

With another small groan, Marco's electric blue eyes opened. A slow smile stretched across his lips when he saw Aerie's bright golden irises looking back at him.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Aerie croaked out. She winced at the sound of her own voice. It was scratchy and hoarse from lack of use.

Marco chuckled and extended an arm to ruffle her hair, like one would do to a child. "Should be saying that to you, yoi," he replied. "You've been out for the last two days."

Aerie's eyes widened. Two days?! "How?"

Marco's brow furrowed. "You don't remember anything?" He asked.

Aerie's face mirrored his own. "I remember the new act at the Big Top, and I think we came back to the ship after that. Dad was here, and-"

"Hold on, did you just say 'Dad'? Your father was here, yoi? Where is he now?"

"I don't know. All I know is he got me cornered and took a swipe at my head. I must have passed out because I woke up here."

Marco frowned. He wondered if this was just a side effect of the drug Ringmaster tested on her. There couldn't be any way she was with her father unless it was in a dream. Before he could voice his thoughts, the door to the infirmary opened. Through it came Carlyle and Eliza, with the latter chuckling at something the Marine had said. Both of them broke into wide grins when they saw Aerie awake on her bed.

"Gave us a good scare there, Aerie," Eliza said. "Thought you might be a goner for sure this time." She sat on the corner of the artist's bed and patted her foot. "In fact, if it weren't for Marco and Carlyle findin' you when they did, you could have been."

Aerie's eyes widened a bit. She looked at the blonde commander. "You did?"

Marco's frown disappeared and turned into a soft smile. "Well, it was Carlyle who found you first. I just through the guy who had you there through a wall. You should be thanking him, yoi." He nodded his head at the Marine, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I wouldn't have thought to even have a look in the lab in the first place."

"Lab? What lab?" She turned to each of the persons in the infirmary. "I wasn't on the deck of a ship?"

"Ship?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah, Dad and I were on a ship-"

"The vice admiral is here?" Carlyle interjected.

"Yes, I mean no, I mean... I thought he was..." Aerie felt herself shrink down under the stares of her friends. "He said he was here because you hadn't reported in a while, Carlyle."

"Yeah, because he told me not to. I'm not supposed to have any contact with any Marines outside of my ship for the next two weeks."

Eliza hummed. "You know what, now that I think about it, atropa belladonna causes hallucinations. And from what I could tell from your blood sample, PB-97 contained atropine, which is derived from the plant. I bet that's how you saw your father, lass. It was only a dream."

"What's PB-97?"

"Some steroid Ringmaster made," Marco replied. "He kidnapped all of us, and used you as a lab rat, yoi."

Aerie squirmed in discomfort. Just the thought of being used for experiments made her feel uneasy. "Please tell me this is your idea of a joke, Marco."

"He isn't joking," Carlyle said. "We found you in a lab, pale as a sheet, with an I.V. and empty poison bottles."

Eliza stepped in, seeing the sick look on Aerie's face. "Don't worry, lass. We got the poison out of your system, and Marco took care of Ringmaster. Pops sunk the island, and we've just been sittin' here for the past few days waitin' for you to wake up."

"And getting drunk off our asses," Marco muttered. Carlyle sighed in agreement, thinking of his crew that were suffering from hangovers up on deck as they spoke.

"Ach, those morons deserve it," Eliza said, as if reading both men's thoughts. "They should know by now not to have parties with alcohol after bein' in fights."

Aerie couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle at the image of her crew mates. She was still uneasy at the thought of being a lab rat, but being with her friends made her feel immensely better. It also helped they had sated her fears of her father actually coming to find her.

The door to the infirmary crashed open, thanks to an over-enthusiastic Fourth Division commander. "AERIE!" He shouted at the top of his voice. "THANK GOD YOU'RE OKAY!" He crossed the distance between them in seconds and gave her an awkward bear-hug on her bed. "I WAS SO WORRIED!" He screamed in her ear.

Aerie tried in vain to get out of his embrace. "I'm glad to see you too, Thatch, but please don't scream in my ear."

Thatch froze, then let her go and stood up quickly. "Ah, sorry." He grinned. "Hey, now you're awake, you can come party! The Marines showed me a really fun drinking game where-" He was cut off by a brutal hit to the back of his head, thanks to Eliza.

"Idiot," she growled, green eyes flashing. "She just woke up after being asleep for two days thanks to a deadly maniac. Drinking is the last thing she needs to do now! Instead of being useless, why don't you go ask Haruta to make some soup?"

"Yes ma'am," he moaned, nursing the bump on the back of his head. He sulked out of the room to find the Twelfth Division commander.

Eliza sighed once he left. She smiled warmly at Aerie, going from scary demon to caring friend in the space of a second. "Well, he'll be back soon, and hopefully he'll be calmer. In the meantime, I need to go make sure Pops hasn't given himself alcohol poisoning. I'll be back soon," she promised as she exited the room.

Carlyle ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I've gotta go wake up my crew," he said. "It's our turn to make breakfast." He too turned to leave.

"Carlyle, wait." He looked back at Aerie. "Thank you, really. You saved my life."

The Marine captain grinned at his childhood friend. "You're welcome, really." With that, he opened the door and walked out of the infirmary.

Once he was gone, Aerie looked over at Marco. "Thank you too, Marco. Without the two of you, I wouldn't be here."

Marco ruffled her hair again. "That's what family's for, yoi."

Aerie swatted his hand away in mock irritation. As she smoothed her hair down an idea came to her mind. A sly smirk slid itself on to her face. "Are you sure that's the only reason you rescued me?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"You do spend an awful lot of time with me, commander. I think you've gotten rather fond of me, even if you won't admit it."

"Actually, the only reason I noticed you weren't there when we freed the others is because you weren't nagging at me, ya harpy."

"Who're you calling a harpy, you flaming pigeon?!"

"Who else would I be talking to, eagle eyes?"

"Pineapple!"

"Brat!"

"Turkey!"

Marco suddenly stopped and chuckled. Thinking he was laughing at her, Aerie snapped, "What?"

His lips curved upward into a genuine smile, not the usual smirk he wore. "Just glad you're okay, yoi." He stood up and walked to the door. Before he walked out, he looked over his shoulder and said, "And yes, I am fond of you. Just a little bit."

Aerie's jaw dropped and her golden eyes widened. A small bit of color rose to her cheeks as she smiled to herself.

Yeah, she was just a little bit fond of him, too.

~...~

It wasn't until the next day that Eliza let Aerie leave the infirmary, just to be sure none of the poison remained in her system. Thankfully, none of it did, much to the relief of everyone. Times likes this made Aerie glad she had such a large group of friends that were all concerned for her.

Of course, they could just be using her health as an excuse to throw the fifth party in four days.

Aerie tried to not think of that as she watched her crew, her family, rope the Marines into another celebration. The latter group agreed without too much persuasion on the Whitebeards' part. Before long, they were all engaged in stuffing their faces with food and drowning themselves in sake. She didn't envy the hangovers they would have later at all, but she did envy the fun they were having with each other. Eliza allowed her to come on the strict promise she wouldn't so much as look at alcohol.

She leaned causally against the railing, drinking iced tea. She preferred this stuff anyway. Her eyes drifted to where some Marines were having a drinking contest with Vista and Jozu, the Fifth and Third Division commanders, respectively. Aerie almost pitied the Marines. Vista and Jozu could hold their liquor quite well.

Over on another spot on deck, Thatch was talking (read: flirting) with Sergeant Major Illia. Much to Aerie's surprise, there was an honest-to-goodness smile on the woman's face. She didn't think the stick in the mud knew how to smile, much less at a pirate of all people.

Eliza and Carlyle were chatting amicably off to the side. The two seemed to have hit it off and were on the fast track to friendship. Heck, if you so much as drank with a Whitebeard, you were their friend. Aerie smiled before letting her gaze wander again.

Her golden eyes eventually rested on Marco. The blonde commander was standing beside Pops, laughing at something the behemoth had said. His electric blue eyes met hers and he raised his mug in a silent toast. She raised her tea to him in reply. His mouth stretched into a grin as he tipped his head back and drank, Aerie mimicking the action. The monstrous captain said something to his son, causing his head to turn away from Aerie's as he replied. Aerie smiled and looked away as well, just being satisfied watching her family.

~...~

A week later, the Marines were preparing to make the two-day journey back to their base. Both crews were moving reluctantly, neither wanting to separate from their newfound friends.

"Alright!" One Marine called from across the gap between the two ships. "From this point onward, we're enemies! Next time we meet, it won't be pretty for you guys!"

"As if!" One of the lower-ranking pirates called back. "We'll be the ones wailing it on you!" The two sides started bickering, friendship momentarily forgotten.

Illia looked on the situation and sighed. She was back in uniform, a a crisp, white suit adorned with small badges. "Idiots," she muttered.

"Relax, Illia," Carlyle laughed. "We're still on vacation, remember?" He, too, was in uniform. He wore white pants, a royal blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a teal necktie, and a white vest. His sandy blonde hair was neatly combed and his skin was a healthy tan. He was a far cry from the man he had been two weeks ago when he was ordered to leave the base.

Aerie chuckled from beside him. "She never quits, does she?"

"Nope. On the battlefield, it's an excellent quality. Here, not so much."

"So, no hard feelings, right man? I mean, you're not gonna arrest us right?" Asked Thatch.

Carlyle was silent for a moment before dramatically shouting, "Damn! We're still on vacation! We can't arrest anyone for two more days! Looks like you God-awful pirates will escape yet again!" He pressed his hands to either side of his head and widened his eyes for comical effect. The pirates laughed quietly at his actions.

Aerie walked forward and hugged him around his neck. "Thanks again, Carlyle," she murmured into his ear.

Carlyle wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. "You're welcome," he murmured back. After a moment, the old friends separated.

Carlyle stepped back and smirked. "See you later, alligator."

Aerie rolled her eyes and sarcastically replied, "After while, crocodile."

The Marine captain laughed and leaped off the deck of the pirate ship. He gracefully landed on the Marine vessel and cut the lines connecting the ships. The blue and green ship caught a wind and began sailing away. Both crews waved until Illia's voice cut through the air, distinguishable even on the Moby Dick. "All right, you dogs! Time to get back to work!" The Marines groaned, but apparently went back to their positions on and below deck, as the ship quickly went out of sight.

"That turned out a lot better than I thought it would," Thatch confessed. "I thought he was seriously going to try and arrest us."

"Nah," Aerie said. "He wouldn't have tried after what you guys went through together. He's got a good heart, after all."

"The only thing I'm worried about is what he's gonna do once he gets back to his base, yoi. What's he gonna tell you're dad?" Asked Marco.

Everyone paused to consider this. They hadn't thought of what might happen once the Marines had left. Finally, Eliza said, "Well, I'm sure he'll say he saw us and he might even mention what happened here. Then he might go so far to say as we escaped at the last minute. We may never know."

~...~

Two days later, Carlyle strode confidently through the Marine base toward Vice Admiral Kobe's office. Walking slightly behind and to the right of him was Sergeant Major Illia, normally composed expression in place.

Coming up to the door, he boldly knocked and only entered when he heard the say-so from his superior. He and Illia stood straight-backed in front of the vice admiral's desk. Upon seeing who entered his office, Tanaka Kobe smiled widely.

"Captain, Sergeant Major!" He greeted enthusiastically. "How did it go?"

The two officers exchanged a quick glance before Carlyle said, "It went very well, sir. The circus was fantastic, like you said it would be."

"Really? Oh, that's great! I'm glad you had fun, Carlyle, you really needed it."

"Weeeellll," Carlyle stretched the word out as he considered what to say next, "the circus itself was fantastic, but..."

Kobe raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"Well, you see, sir, the ringmaster had this issue where he drugged and kidnapped the entire crew and myself and attempted to kill us on several occasions."

"What?" He asked after a moment of silence. "Why?"

Carlyle shrugged. "Didn't bother asking before Marco offed him."

"Marco? The Phoenix? Why was he there?"

This time it was Illia who answered. "The Whitebeard Pirates arrived at Three Ring Island hours after we did. They were also kidnapped, sir."

"...please tell me this is a joke."

"I'm afraid not, sir." Carlyle looked at his superior with an unwavering gaze. "In fact, your own daughter was used to test an experimental drug the ringmaster himself made." Kobe looked sick. "Without them, we wouldn't have escaped and Aerie would have died from poisoning."

The vice admiral heaved a sigh and sat back in his chair. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Finally, he gestured to the seats in front of his desk. The captain and the sergeant major both took one. "Alright," he said at length. "Tell me everything from when you first arrived at the island."

Carlyle took a breath and said, "Well, it started out like this..."

* * *

**Hey buddies! Super short one, I know, but I don't want to start the next arc yet. Which reminds me, if any of you have an idea for an arc, PM me! I hit a bit of a writer's block there for a while...**

**So, a little bit of Marco/Aerie fluff for those of you who wanted it. You know who you are. I kinda ship it, but have no idea how to deal with relationships... Thoughts? Too cheesy? **

**I want your honest opinion, guys! Tell me how I'm doing! I'm stuck! *cries* I can't find inspiration! I think I know what I want to do next, but I need your help! Give me ideas, please!**

**REVIEW! **

**Love always,**

**Batman **


	17. Chapter 16: Two Worlds, One Family

**DarkAngelLida: Hehe... I'm so glad you like it. :) Yay for fluffiness! Yes, I'm happy for her too! However, I suspect a meeting is inevitable... *hint, hint; wonk, wink; nudge, nudge* They are pretty good at making friends... And if you go and look at the end of Punk Hazard, you'll see the same thing there too. (Hah I'm soo original. :-/) You really like their interactions, huh? Hmm.. We'll see how it ends up for the two of them. :D Anyway, thanks so much for the review!**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: I'm glad you like it! Yes, I wonder? Hehehe... :D Thanks for reviewing!**

**Son of Whitebeard: F-f-flashbacks?! I have *cough, cough* no idea what you're *cough* talking about. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Guest: Nope, you haven't missed anything. He's still there, but I haven't really had any ideas what to do with him lately...hehe. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Guest: NO. NO NO NO. Thanks for reviewing!**

**SixPerfections: 1. Yeah :) it was pretty fun to write too! Thanks for reviewing!**

**2\. Aye it is! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Eheh... I realize I haven't done this before, and I probably should, but I feel as though I should post warnings about the chapter. So... WARNING: This chapter contains swearing, blood, angry pirates, and plot twists. There are also sassy, disobedient subordinates, snarky commanders, and obnoxious flirting. You have been warned!**

* * *

Chapter 16: Two Worlds, One Family

Aerie was restless. She stood looking out over an expansive forest from a large window. The window in question faced out from a magnificent five-story house. The house was made of tan limestone and copper, which had turned green from the constant rain of the jungle. The limestone was beautifully crafted with swooping arches and floral designs. Cast iron fences and gates surrounded the property, keeping out the cannibalistic island natives. Around the fence, guards patrolled the perimeter as an extra safety measure.

None of these things gave comfort to the young artist. In fact, these measures kept the islanders out as well as kept her in. She had been left alone since being first brought here. She had seen nothing except the gorgeous suite she inhabited and the view from the window. The only visitors she received were the servants of the household that brought her food. She was allowed to leave the room, but she did not want to. Here, she could be alone with her thoughts.

Being alone, though, led her to think about her latest situation. Or, she should say, her latest mistake in an ongoing series. She scowled out the glass pane at the forest.

"That look doesn't suit you, my dear," a deep voice said from behind her. She looked over her shoulder at the intruder and scowled at him instead. He leaned casually on the frame of her now-open door. "You are much too beautiful to look so angry."

Aerie scoffed and turned back to the window. She crossed her arms and ignored the man by staring out at the forest again.

The man didn't appreciate this in the least. He hid his slight irritation beneath a lazy smirk as he pushed himself off the door post he was leaning against. He slowly walked up behind her. Her body stiffened from his closeness. He put his hands on her shoulders and moved them down her arms, stopping at her elbows. He pulled her back closer to him. His smirk widened as she shivered from his touch, more than likely out of apprehension.

Aerie felt dread pooling in her stomach the moment he pulled her backwards. She shivered out of disgust for being so close to her captor. If he doesn't get his hands off me soon, she decided, I am going to remove the part of him that allows him to have children.

The man strengthened the his grip on her left arm slightly and used his other hand to turn her head by the chin to face him. She gasped quietly at the closeness of his face and reeled back slightly, only causing his smirk to widen more. Seeing this, she flushed a little and scowled again.

"What do you want?" She growled.

He chuckled. "Only to see you. You've been all by yourself these last few days. Surely you must be..._lonely_." He added special emphasis on the last word, leaning closer to her face.

Aerie jerked her head from his grip and pushed him out of reach. She glared threateningly at him. "I'm fine. Better I stay here than run into creeps like you."

He placed a hand over his heart and pretended to be wounded. "Ah, my dear, you offend me."

"That was the intention. Now leave."

"I think you are forgetting you are in my house."

"Your father's house, you mean."

"Same thing. I'm just trying to be hospitable, after all."

"Well, you can lay off on the hospitality. I know I'm not welcome here, I'm a prisoner. Your friends have made that perfectly clear."

The man stepped closer to her again. "I don't think so. The traitor is the prisoner. You're just the bonus." He said in a dark tone.

Aerie resisted the urge to gag at his tone. It was bad enough he looked so much like him, but to have him talk to her like that only made it worse. Instead of gagging, she rolled her eyes and pointed to the door. "Get out. I have nothing I want to say to you."

The man shrugged his broad shoulders and slowly walked to the door. Before exiting completely, he looked back at her, a lazy smirk in place and mischievous glint in his electric blue eyes. "By the way," he drawled. "Father asked me to extend an invitation to dinner. There's a lovely dress in the wardrobe you may wear if you wish. I think you will like it."

Aerie's eyes narrowed. "And if I refuse this 'invitation' and choose to remain here?"

The smirk turned malicious. "Trust me, I wouldn't do that. Father does hate to be disappointed. Who knows who will get hurt if you refuse?" His tone implied she knew exactly would get hurt.

Knowing she didn't have much of a choice, she scowled and said, "Fine. What time should I be there?"

"I'll come up to collect you at seven. Nice talking to you, my dear." With that, the man finally left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he left, Aerie sat down on the large bed with a groan. She flopped backwards and looked at the canopy above her. _Marco, everyone, where are you?_

~...~

_Three days ago..._

"What do you mean, I can't go?!" Aerie demanded.

Marco crossed his arms over his chest and put on his most serious face. "Exactly what I said: you're not going, yoi. It's too dangerous."

"I can handle it!"

"No means no, Aerie."

"Agh!" Aerie threw her hands in the air. The two had been going back and forth like this over the dinner table for several minutes. The discussion had begun innocently enough, with Marco's mention of a scouting assignment for the First Division. A small group would go to explore and map an uncharted area of nearby sea for about a month, then return to the Moby Dick. Needless to say, Aerie was not pleased when Marco denied her request to join the group.

She pointed at Marco. "You don't think I can do it, do you?"

Marco scowled. "Of course I think you can do it, but it's too dangerous. The people I'm sending have been scouting for a long time, yoi. I won't send you out on your first mission for a month."

"I flew from island to island by myself for four years! Please, Marco? I know I can do it!"

"I already told you no. I'm the commander, this is my decision, and I'm standing by it." Aerie scowled. "Fine, you know what? Let's ask the others." He looked at Thatch, Eliza, and Izo, who were sitting at the table with them. "I submit the motion for Aerie to stay on the ship."

"Seconded," Eliza said.

"All in favor?"

The group, sans Aerie, responded, "Aye."

"Opposed?"

"Nay!" Aerie said loudly.

"The 'ayes' have it." Marco drilled Aerie with a stern glare. "You're staying here, yoi."

Aerie gaped at her friends. "Eliza, you too?"

The redhead sighed. "Lass, he's right. A whole month for your first assignment is a really long time. Plus, you always seem to bring back more cuts and bruises than you dish out."

"I can handle it, really!"

"Right," interjected Thatch. "Just like the way you 'handled' the sea king last week?"

Aerie winced at the memory. She had been innocently helping some of the other members fish for dinner when she had felt a tug on her line. Before she could call out, she was pulled over the railing of the ship. While the various members panicked, a massive sea king rose out of the water, Aerie hanging from her fishing line from its jaws. She dropped back to the deck after it opened its mouth and roared at the startled crew. This caught the attention of Haruta and Izo who were (thankfully) standing nearby. With the two commanders' help, the sea king became dinner for the crew.

"You can't possibly blame me for that!" Aerie exclaimed. "I didn't know I had caught a sea king until it took me under! And it's not like I could kill it after it dropped me from a hundred feet in the air!"

"The point is, deary," Izo said, "is that you have a remarkable penchant for getting into trouble."

Aerie sighed in irritation and put her hands to her temples. This wasn't fair, and she wasn't one to complain about unfairness. But, as usual, Marco was acting like a mother hen, and the others were siding with him. _He sounds just like my dad,_ she thought sourly. After a stretch of time, she stood up.

"Where are ya goin'?" Eliza asked, turning her head to follow her progress through the mess hall.

"Out for some air," Aerie replied noncommittally. "See you guys later."

She walked through the halls of the ship, passing many crew members without so much as a glance. Finally, she made it to the deck, where there was no one in sight. Aerie took a deep breath before letting out a long, frustrated groan. A chirp from above drew her attention.

Apollo looked down with concern. The shipwrights had constructed a makeshift nest for him after several crew members had complained of the giant eagle's occupation of the crow's nest. Now, he roosted in a bird house on one of the main masts of the ship.

Smiling a little, Aerie climbed the ropes to reach his bird house. He cooed and presented his head for a petting. She rubbed his head and sat down next to him on the wooden floor of the house.

"Can you believe him, Apollo?" She asked, curling up next to her friend. "I know he's my commander, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't have faith in my abilities! He's so frustrating!" She got to her feet again. "Just the other day he was telling me how much I've improved! How I've gotten stronger! Why is he trying to hold me back now?" Angrily, she paced back and forth. "It's just-gah!" She let out another frustrated cry.

Apollo chirped again and tilted his head at his friend. He couldn't understand her angry words, but he could sense her distress. He nudged her leg with his head and watched her through brown eyes.

Aerie sighed and curled up beside him again. "I'm sorry, buddy. I shouldn't be unloading it on you like this." Outside, a clap of thunder drew her attention. She moved to the small opening that served as a door in the bird house. "Looks like a storm's coming," she muttered.

The skies outside were black, and the sea was beginning to churn. Every so often, a flash of lightning illuminated the clouds from within, but none had broken through the thunderheads yet. Thunder boomed and crashed all around the ship, suddenly making the massive boat seem very small. Aerie would have moved back into the bird house, were it not for a small shadow on the horizon. She squinted her golden eyes at the object, before widening them again in surprise.

"There's something out there!" She called back to Apollo.

~...~

"Aerie, yoi!" Marco called as he wandered through the ship. A storm was brewing outside on deck, and the members of the Seventh Division were preparing the ship to survive the storm. He sighed in exasperation. Figures the one time he was going to apologize to the woman, she disappears without a trace. "Ugh, where is she?"

After searching nearly every room the woman could have been in, Marco climbed the stairs to the deck. On deck, the Seventh Division was rapidly moving about, tying down loose items, raising the sails, and preparing for the storm. The sea was beginning to churn and the winds were beginning to howl. Whitebeard and Rakuyo, the Seventh Division commander, were standing off to the side, observing the men do their work. Marco walked over to them.

"Pops, Rakuyo," he said in greeting. Both turned their heads to the blonde. "Have you seen Aerie? She came up here after dinner, but I don't know where she is now."

"Sorry, son," Whitebeard rumbled. "She isn't up here. If she was, we would've put her to work, gurahaha!" Rakuyo nodded in agreement with the captain.

Marco sighed. "Okay, thanks anyway, yoi."

"Eh, Marco! While you're out here, would you mind flying up to check on that bird of hers? He should probably be locked in the birdhouse for the night," Rakuyo said as Marco turned away.

Marco narrowed his eyes at his brother. He wasn't sure if it was an honest request or another jibe at his phoenix powers. Like, because he was a bird he was supposed to be able to communicate with the golden eagle. Finally he said, "Sure, no problem."

Instead of flying, Marco climbed the ropes leading up to the birdhouse. Flying in these winds could prove to be dangerous, anyway. "Oi, Apollo! You up here?" He called out when he reached the wooden hut. To his slight annoyance, the bird was not there. "Damn bird," he muttered. Aerie would be utterly pissed if her eagle went missing in the storm. _Maybe she should keep a better eye on him,_ he thought bitterly. He went back to the door to shout down to Rakuyo that the eagle wasn't here, when something caught his eye. A smudge on the horizon.

Marco narrowed his electric blue eyes at the object. "Is that...an island?" He mused to himself. If it was, it could provide shelter for the crew from the storm. Then, another thought occurred to him. He turned back into the birdhouse. Along one of the walls, the peg that hung Apollo's saddle was empty. Marco swore and turned back to the storm brewing outside.

~...~

Flying through the storm proved to be more difficult than it first appeared to be. Both Aerie and Apollo were fighting the wind all the way to the dark shadow on the horizon. The thunder boomed all around them, soon followed by spears of lightning.

The closer they drew to the shadow, the more Aerie could see of it. Finally, the outline of the thing became clear.

"An island?" Aerie asked herself. She had Apollo fly over it so she could consider her next move. Suddenly, she became excited. If she brought this information back to the crew, they could dock here overnight instead of trying to rough it through the storm! Proud of herself for this revelation, she turned Apollo around to fly back to the ship.

That's when the rain started. Not just a drizzle, but a full-on downpour of ice-cold water coming from the heavens. Aerie was instantly drenched to the skin. She wildly looked around, trying to see the _Moby Dick_ through the rain, but with a pang of despair, she realized she couldn't see it. As she craned her head sound, looking for it, her eyes saw something else, and it was coming towards her fast.

It was a large bird, flying high in the clouds. The bird was completely black, much like the clouds it flew through. Its body was sleek and muscular, and reminded Aerie of a raven. Its eyes, however, were a vibrant shade of blue, like the sea on a sunny day. The bird fixated these eyes on her and stopped to observe her, hovering in the black clouds. It opened its mouth. Out of the mouth came a white-hot fork of lightning.

Aerie's eyes widened. _Shit!_ This thought couldn't save her or her golden eagle from the lightning though. It struck Apollo in the chest as he rolled to protect Aerie from the majority of the shock. It didn't stop her from getting electrocuted, as their bodies were still touching. She and Apollo both screamed and began to fall to the ground.

The bird watched them fall impassively, it's wings beating the air and making strong winds kick up again.

Aerie was slowly losing consciousness, but she was still very much aware of falling through the air. She saw the black bird watching them and stirring up the air. She saw Apollo, smoking, fall faster than she was. A blue light at the edge of her vision caught her attention. _Ah, it's Marco,_ she realized. _Wonder what he's doing out here?_ She saw him diving to catch her, and that was when her world went black.

~...~

Marco hated flying into the wind. His muscles strained as he pushed himself to fly faster and faster towards the island, before Aerie got caught in the storm.

_Stupid woman, _he mentally cursed. _This is all about that expedition, isn't it?_

He swore aloud as the rain began to fall, only making his flying experience worse. The wind caused the rain to fall horizontally, right into Marco's flight course.

Finally, there she is! Marco thought as Aerie came into view, flying above the island. She was staring at something in the clouds, surprise written all over her face. He didn't have time to consider what she was looking at because a fork of lightning streaked through the air straight towards her. Apollo did a barrel roll in midair and allowed the lightning to hit him in the chest. Both rider and eagle began to fall through the sky, right down to the island.

Marco dove and transformed his feet into talons. He reached out as far as he could, just managing to catch Aerie by her shoulders. He began to flap his wings again, desperately trying to lose speed. However, despite his efforts, the ground was still rising towards them way too fast. Realizing this, he tossed Aerie up and caught her in his arms. He twisted around so she would land on top of him.

They crashed into a tree. The branches and limbs snapped around them, scratching Marco's back and ripping his shirt. Small blue flames healed over the scratched as they appeared, but more quickly replaced them the further they fell.

The two hit the ground hard, even though they were greatly slowed by the tree. The wind rushed out of Marco's lungs as his back made contact with the earth. As much as it hurt, he was glad they landed here and not in the ocean. His Devil Fruit would have caused him to sink like a stone, and Aerie couldn't have saved him in this storm and her unconscious state.

He groaned and lay his head back. Thankfully, the tree shielded them from most of the rain. He looked at Aerie, who rested on his chest. He frowned at her, even though she couldn't see it. "I despise you. I hope you know that." He muttered.

Marco stood up and gently placed Aerie on the ground beside him. He took off his ruined shirt and examined the tears in it. He then gave himself a look-over. Thankfully, his powers sealed up all of the scratches on his back and arms. Sighing, he moved to sit against the tree. Until the storm passed, he didn't want to risk flying again. The lightning and the wind were to unpredictable. Plus, he didn't know where Apollo landed, or even if the bird was still alive. He groaned and knocked the back of his head against the tree repeatedly. He mentally cursed the woman sleeping close by him. If she hadn't gotten upset over his refusal, she wouldn't have flown off by herself to check out the island.

He glared at Aerie's unconscious form. "Stupid woman," he said aloud.

~...~

Aerie felt as though her insides had been lit on fire. Technically speaking, this was correct, as the hot lightning had passed completely through her body, after going through Apollo first. Briefly, Aerie wondered where the bird was now. Or even if he had survived...

This thought startled Aerie awake: _What if Apollo is dead?_ She let out an upset moan and sat straight up. "Apollo!" She cried.

"Oh, look who's awake," a snarky voice said from beside her. She looked over and saw an extremely angry Marco, glaring at her. She gulped at the dark expression on his face. "Gee, Aerie, it was so nice of you to tell me or anyone else where you were going, yoi. It was nice to see you found an island where we could dock too. And it was especially genius of you to go fly out into the middle of a storm by yourself. Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?" He demanded angrily.

Aerie shrank under her furious gaze. "I'm-"

"You know what, it doesn't matter. Right now, we're stuck, and no one knows we're here." He looked up and glared at the sky. "Thankfully the rain has stopped for now."

Aerie winced and looked at the ground. They were both silent, until Aerie quietly said, "Thank you. For catching me."

Marco's blue eyes flicked back to her. "You're welcome, yoi," he muttered.

She glanced up hopefully. "Did you see what happened to Apollo? He-he got hit by lightning to save me."

After a minute, he answered with, "I saw him get hit, but I don't know what happened after that."

Aerie felt herself choke up a bit. She would be utterly heartbroken if he had died for her stupidity. Marco, seeing her get upset, said, "We'll go looking for him later. First we need to decide what to do." Aerie nodded and looked back down at the ground. "Okay, so we're both here and the crew is somewhere out there. We need to find a way to communicate with them and get them to come over here." She nodded again.

Marco looked around them. They could always try a smoke signal using the foliage around them, but with the clouds, it could prove difficult to see. He ran a hand through his short, blonde hair.

"Marco?" Aerie asked hesitantly.

He sighed. "What is it, yoi?"

"Marco, I'm really sorry. I saw this shadow on the horizon, and I thought that if I could find out what it was, I could maybe prove to you that I really can handle myself. And maybe you and the others would stop worrying about me all the time. I don't care about the exploration anymore, just the fact you don't have any faith in my abilities, and-" she was cut off by a hand on her head.

Marco ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it now, Aerie. We'll talk about when we get back to the ship." He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Now, let's think of something to-" he never finished his sentence as a gunshot rang through the air. Marco let out a sharp cry of pain and stumbled forward into Aerie.

Aerie caught Marco as he fell forward. She gasped out his name as she bore most of his weight. To her horror, she saw blood spilling out from a hole on his shoulder. "Why is it doing that?" She asked in a panicked voice. "Your powers should have stopped it, right?"

"Kairoseki," he gritted out. His head leaned into her shoulder and clenched his teeth. He had forgotten what it actually felt like to get shot. He could feel the bullet sapping away his energy from within his body.

"Well, well, well, look at this," a lazy voice drawled behind them. Marco's eyes shot open in surprise and he felt Aerie tense in front of him. "If it isn't Marco the traitor..."

Marco felt Aerie being pulled away from him. She gave a shout of surprise and Marco fell forward to the gourd. Painfully, he pushed himself to his elbows and saw her being restrained by a large man, who had an arm around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. His other hand grabbed her jaw and wrenched her head around to watch the scene. As Marco tried to get to his feet to help her, a foot stomped down on his back, on the place where he was shot.

He cried out again, but the voice continued as if the man didn't notice what was happening. "My favorite little brother."

At last, Marco knew who had attacked them. _No, no, no!_ He silently pleaded. _Anyone but him!_ He craned his head around to see his attackers face. His eyes widened in dismay.

The man he was now face to face with was smirking maliciously down at him. His features were almost identical to Marco's, with his pineapple-shaped head, electric blue eyes, and his relaxed stance. He tilted his head to the side, smirk still in place.

"Missed me?" He asked tauntingly.

~...~

To say Aerie was confused was an understatement. She was manhandled by some burly muscleman and jerked away from Marco, causing the slightly older man to fall to the ground. His shoulder hadn't stopped bleeding, and a small river of blood ran from the wound down to the hem of his pants. He pushed himself up to look at her, and a man holding a gun came out of the forest. He wore expensive-looking slacks and a jacket. The top button on his shirt was open, revealing a bit of his tan, muscular chest. The man pushed Marco back down with his foot and continued talking as if he wasn't grinding his boot into his gunshot wound.

She struggled violently to get out of the man's grip, but he gripped her jaw and whispered harshly in her ear, "Watch it, sis, unless you want your head disconnected from your shoulders." Judging from the position of his hands, he was serious about his threat.

However, her attention was drawn back to Marco when the man with the gun said, "My _favorite_ little brother."

_Brother?!_ Aerie stiffened in shock. _I didn't know he had a brother! Then again, he looks almost exactly like Marco!_

The gunned man smirked maliciously and said, "Missed me?"

Aerie saw Marco ball up his hands as he tried to get his brother's foot off of his back, only making him press down harder. Marco growled in pain. Aerie struggled in the henchman's hold again.

Her squirming caused the gunman's gaze to fixate on her. His smirk widened as he raked his eyes over her figure in the henchman's arms. "Well, now," he purred moving from his brother to where she was being held. In two steps, he was in front of her. He put a hand on her face and brushed her hair behind one ear. "Who are you, my dear? Don't tell me a beautiful lady such as yourself is with my baby brother."

"Aerie," she spat out, trying to move her head away from his hand. The henchman jerked her head back with his strong grip on her jaw.

Marco's brother chuckled. "Enchanting," he whispered. "My name is Damien. I would love the opportunity to get to know you better." Aerie pulled a face of disgust.

"Stay away from her, yoi," Marco warned darkly as he painfully got to his feet.

"How cute," the gunman taunted, "Marco is defending his girlfriend. What are you going to do to me, baby brother? You couldn't beat me, even if you had your powers."

"I wouldn't be concerned about what I'd do, but what she'd do. She's taken away a guy's manhood before, and I think she wouldn't hesitate to do it again." Marco's brother glanced at Aerie before moving away from her slightly. "And, for the record, she hates it when people assume we're a couple."

Damien stepped forward until he was directly in front of Marco. Before he could react, the gunman placed his open palm on his chest. Marco fell to the ground again, even though it didn't seem like Damien had done anything.

His older brother looked around at the henchmen. "One of you, pick him up. He has a meeting with father and I know he would hate to miss it." Another burly man came forward and bent over to pick up the First Division commander. Marco lashed out, trying to get away, but a hit in his head stopped his movements. Aerie tried once more, in vain to escape her hold and help him, but the man's grip on her was too strong. The muscleman picked up Marco, non too gently, and slung him over one shoulder.

"Let's go," Damien ordered, and the men obediently followed him.

After walking for what felt like an hour, with only Damien's attempts at flirting with Aerie as a form of conversation, their entourage reached a clearing. Inside the clearing was the biggest house Aerie had ever seen, made completely from limestone. It's roof was made from copper, which had a greenish tinge. The property was surrounded by a cast iron fence.

"Why the fence?" Aerie asked, making sure to use her most obnoxious voice.

Damien flashed her a winning smile. "Well, the natives are cannibals, my dear. We need some way to defend ourselves. Besides that, father's willpower keeps them away pretty well." He walked up to the gate. On it, the letters V and T were crafted into the iron.

"Nice place," Marco said, finally waking up.

Damien rolled his eyes. "Well, seeing as you ever so kindly burnt our last one to the ground, we had to relocate and start over." Marco smirked in triumph at the memory. His older brother looked back at Aerie, who had been released from her captor's grip a while ago. "Miss Aerie, I welcome you to the humble estate of the Von Trapp family, home of the finest thieves in the world."

* * *

**Ah! Another chapter! And it only took me three days! By the way, Saturday (the day of my last update) was the six-month anniversary of this story! *Blows noisemaker* Woohoo! I don't think I'd be here without you guys and your positive comments! You're awesome, really!**

**So, we see some of Marco's family! In case you're curious, the house mentioned is modeled after the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina (if you haven't seen it, you should), and the name Von Trapp comes from the Sound of Music (I don't like the movie, but the name was cool).**

**I think it's time I clarified some things: 1.) Marco and Aerie are not a couple. They have the potential of being one, yes, but they are not now. This arc is designed so they get to know each other a little better. 2.) Marco and Aerie will not be going on a date. Sorry.**

**I hope that clears some stuff up. They do look cute together, though, don't they?**

**REVIEW!**

**~The Dark Knight**


	18. Chapter 17: It's a Jungle Out There

**Eh, once again it is time for me to say something I definitely should have been saying all along, so I'll start off with an apology. I'm so sorry if it seems like I'm being an ungrateful spoiled brat, but I really do appreciate every favorite, follow, and review I get! SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO DID THAT STUFF LAST TIME! I LOVE YOU!**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Hey thanks! I had to actually go back and re-read earlier in the story where I said what Marco was before he joined the crew. When I saw that I made him a thief, this idea came to my head of "What would happen when his past catches up to him?" and so, I created this arc. This island they landed on wasn't his hometown, but as Damien mentioned, Marco burned down the last one. Damien looks almost exactly like Marco, except he's a little taller and he doesn't have the tattoo on his chest. Yes, his family is indeed still alive, despite their home being burnt down (thanks Marco!). No. Absolutely not. They will not be doing that anytime in the foreseeable future, unless I have the spur-of-the-moment decision to make them get married. However, I am detecting fluff for the next chapter ;). It's okay, haha! Your comments are always very entertaining!**

**Guest: Fozzie Bear: Thanks! I'm glad someone else out there knows what the Biltmore House is! Thank you for reviewing and have a Merry Christmas!**

**MonochromeRaven: Yeah...now that you mention it, she does seem to attract all of the blonde weirdos in the story. Ha, I never noticed until now! Pssh, you and everyone else who reads this story! Seriously, even my little sister ships them! So I'm thinking this story might turn into an eventual Marco x OC story, but I haven't decided for sure yet. Those are some pretty cool ship names, though. Did you read the New Year's Eve one-shot I posted for We Are Family? It was romance! I wrote an actual romance scene without freaking out or blushing like a teenager! Do you really like it? :} You just made my day telling me it's one of your favorites! You have given me motivation to finish the next chapter, haha! Thanks so much for your AWESOME review, and have a happy new year!**

**WARNING: This chapter contains confusing timelines (see note at bottom), a search mission gone wrong, language, and brief mentions of nudity (she's taking a bath, not doing that you pervs).**

* * *

Chapter 17: It's a Jungle Out There

As soon as Damien left, Aerie sat on the large bed in her room and thought out her next move. In her head, she made a list of her assets. Going for her she had: virtually free reign around the monstrous house; a decent grasp of escape tactics; a will to live that went beyond reason; and her good buddy Marco. Unfortunately, against her was: her good buddy's family of thieves, one of which was currently trying to woo her; this monstrous house which contained an unknown amount of people she would have to fight were she to try and escape; no clue as to where Marco was; and finally, no communication with her friends on the Moby Dick.

Aerie rubbed her face vigorously with her hands and ran them through her hair. The cons definitely outweighed the pros in this situation. Even though he didn't call her a prisoner, she didn't think Damien would like it if she left the manor. She wouldn't leave without Marco, though, and she didn't want to try her chances with the people of the mansion and the supposedly-cannibalistic natives on her own. She had gotten stronger than when she joined the crew, but she seriously doubted she could survive a fight like this on her own. No, she needed Marco's help this time.

Aerie got to her feet. She decided exploring the mansion would be a good move, at least until dinner time. Damien, nor anyone else, had never said she couldn't leave this room. She might as well accomplish something while she was here. And, if she could, she would look for information about the Von Trapps.

She opened the door and looked out into the hall. Cautiously, she stepped out and shut the door behind her,not really knowing why she was being so cautious in the first place. With a bit more confidence, Aerie picked a direction and walked down the hallway in search of a set of stairs that would hopefully lead her to a library or something.

~...~

_Two days ago..._

The remaining pirates on the Moby Dick were also deciding on a plan of action. Just before the storm had become too horrible, someone had spotted the island in the distance. They sailed as quickly as they dared to the island without running aground and settled down for the storm. In the commotion caused by the maelstrom, no one noticed the absence of the crew members until late in the night, when Eliza went back to her shared cabin to find her roommate absent. She didn't think anything of it until morning, when Aerie's bed was still empty. She ran around the entire ship trying to find her.

On her quest, she ran into Thatch, who was in the process of searching for Marco. With a mischievous grin, he suggested that maybe they had a sleepover in the First Division commander's room. Eliza seriously doubted this, knowing both of her friends, but followed the pompadoured man nonetheless to the Phoenix's room.

Thatch knocked loudly and obnoxiously on the door in the commanders' quarters. "Maarrrcoooo! Hey, buddy, it's time to get up!" He yelled. Upon hearing no response, he knocked louder and said, "I'm giving you to the count of three! One...two...three!" Thatch kicked down the door and walked into the room.

Once inside, he turned back to Eliza, who was standing just beyond the door. "Huh... I guess they're not here," he said. Eliza sighed.

"Where on earth could they be?" She asked.

Thatch shrugged. "Don't know." His face lit up as he considered something. "What if they went to explore the island?"

"Hmm... Maybe. Let's ask Pops, he'll know for sure."

The two went to the deck, where Whitebeard had already seated himself on his massive throne. With a frown, he too noted he had no idea where the two had gone, but conceded that they could have possibly gone on the island. The crew was already putting together a party to go ashore and explore the uncharted land, so Eliza and Thatch volunteered to go as well to look for their missing crew members.

The party took a couple of row boats to the island. They left these on the beach. Each member of the party carried a knapsack containing a lunch box, an emergency first aid kit, and a mini den-den mushi in case they got into trouble. They split up into small groups, each group planning to cover a different section of the island. One group, consisting of Thatch, Eliza, and Eric of the Sixteenth Division, would search exclusively for Marco and Aerie.

The majority of the island appeared to be covered in a jungle. If they had made it to the island, Eliza was certain they would most likely try to locate shelter in case of an emergency.

Moving through the jungle proved to be easier than what was originally thought. The island seemed to have native citizen somewhere, as the search party found many paths leading though the thick underbrush.

Despite the jungle being relatively easy to navigate, it was still unpleasantly humid and filled with bugs. Eliza tried to not think of the infections or diseases the bugs could cause if one was bitten as she swatted another mosquito away.

She didn't know how long they had been walking around, but they weren't finding any clues for the whereabouts of their missing comrades. Thatch decided it was time for lunch, so their group of three found a clearing and sat down.

"I thought for sure we'd find something by now," Eric muttered, slapping a bug on his arm.

"Me too," Thatch sighed. "What if they're not here after all?"

"Then we'd have just wasted a good four hours," Eliza answered. "But since we don't know for sure, we need to keep looking. What if they're in serious trouble?"

"For all we know, they could be dead."

"No way!" Thatch said in full confidence. "Marco wouldn't let himself just die like that. Have a little faith! He'd do everything in his power to keep himself and Aerie safe. No, they've gotta be alive. We just need to find them."

Eliza smiled softly at Thatch's conviction of their friends. She didn't believe either one would die. Aerie might get herself in trouble a lot, but she was capable of fighting her way out of it. Marco, too, he was just more careful.

"I guess that settles it, then," she said, standing up. "We'll search as long as we can. We can't give up on-"

"Shh!" Thatch pulled her back down. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

_Snap_. "That!"

Thatch got to his feet and drew one of his swords. Eric did the same, but taking out a pistol instead of a blade. Eliza didn't draw a weapon; assassins, even former ones, did not need anything to get the job done.

Out of the forest, a man wearing nothing more than a loin cloth stalked. He was thin and wiry, and all of his visible skin was decorated with war paint. In his hands was a long, hollow tube. He was loading this tube with a colorful dart from a bag slung across his body. Eliza might not know who this man was, but she didn't want to take a chance with those darts.

The skinny man raised his tube to his lips and blew a dart at Thatch. Thatch sliced it in half as it shot through the air, causing a bright green liquid to shower over the ground. The man frowned and said something in an unidentifiable language. As he prepared another dart, Thatch lunged forward and took a swipe at his head.

The native neatly dodged Thatch's slash and shot out his foot into the pompadoured commander's knee. Thatch's leg gave out beneath him, and he muttered a curse. While he was down, the islander took the opportunity to shoot a dart at Eric, who didn't have time to avoid it. The dart hit him in the neck and Eric fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Eric!" Eliza called in panic. She turned to help him, not noticing the second figure step out of the trees. In her rush to aid him, she too was shot in the neck.

"Eliza!" Thatch yelled. He was so focused on his friends' peril he didn't remember the native directly behind him. He felt a sting on the side of his neck, and his world went black.

~...~

"Stupid house," Aerie grumbled to herself. "Why is this place so big?" She had been wandering for a good half hour now, but had yet to leave the third floor. Twice she had found herself in the hallway outside of her room, but she didn't find a set of downward-leading stairs.

Right now, she was in a long hallway of paintings, of which she could only assume were previous family members. The hallway, she now knew, was the one around the corner from her room, in the opposite direction she had walked when leaving the suite.

She huffed and crossed her arms in annoyance. She would end up wasting an entire afternoon because she got lost on the third floor!

"Psst!" The noise got her attention. She looked around for the source of the sound, but could not see anything. Suddenly, one of the paintings, a large, floor-length one, swung open to reveal a boy standing in a passage. He grinned when he saw her and motioned her over with a wave. Aerie walked so she could stand in front of the kid.

"Hey, lady, are you lost?" He asked innocently. Aerie huffed again and nodded. The kid laughed-_laughed_-at her and motioned her to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show you the way. I'm Alphonse, in case you wanted to know."

She nodded. "Aerie."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Aerie," Alphonse said politely. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Do you have a library here? One where I could possibly learn about the Von Trapps?"

"Uh huh. It's on the first floor. There's a big staircase that leads down there, but these secret passages are faster." The passage they were in split into two hallways up ahead. Alphonse turned left. "I know this mansion inside and out. Not a lot of people even know about the secret passages." He looked over his shoulder to grin and her. She offered a small smile in return.

"Do you live here?"

"Yup. I've lived almost my entire life here. I didn't have any friends when I was younger, so I spent my time exploring every nook and cranny. Why do you want to know about the Von Trapps?"

"My friend is a member of the family, it seems."

Alphonse stopped and turned around to look at her. "You mean Marco? No wonder I didn't recognize you! I didn't know you were Marco's friend!"

Aerie sighed. "Yeah, he's my friend. I'm the reason we were caught and brought here in the first place."

"Huh. I could've sworn you were here because of Damien. He's brought pretty girls here before." The two came to a set of narrow wooden stairs. They walked down them.

"Ah, no. I am not associated with him."

"I understand that. Try living with him, it's a real blast." The last statement was dripping with sarcasm.

A little lightbulb came on over Aerie's head. "Is Damien your brother?"

Alphonse snorted. "I wish he wasn't sometimes. He's a jerk. Marco was always the nicer older brother."

"I can see that. I'm not his biggest fan, either." Now that she looked closer at the boy, she could see the resemblance. All three brothers shared the same facial features, tan skin, and blonde hair that only grew on the top of their heads.

"That's actually kind of surprising. Most girls swoon over him as soon as they meet him. They say he's 'devilishly handsome'. 'Course, all the nurses say the same thing when they see Marco's poster in the paper." They came to another set of stairs, which they again climbed down.

"Handsome, maybe. But he needs to work on his approach."

Alphonse chuckled. "Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't tried anything funny on you. You're pretty like the other girls he's brought in, but you must be way smarter."

"I practice my refusing techniques on your other brother. He likes getting in my personal space, too." Right now, though, Aerie would give anything to at least know Marco was alright.

The kid hummed in agreement. He took them down another passageway, this one a dead end. He pushed on the wall to reveal a door leading out into the actual hallway of the house. He led her down the polished marble floor to a large set of wooden doors. These doors opened into a large library filled with an uncountable amount of books.

"Here you go!" Alphonse said cheerfully. "Over here's where our family business books are. It's all boring historical stuff. You sure you want to read this?"

"I'm sure," Aerie said, gazing up at the large volumes.

"Well, alright then. If you want to know about the family, there's a big tree over there." Aerie's eyes followed to where his finger was pointing. Sure enough, there was a large tapestry, with the family tree embroidered on it. Damien, Marco, and Alphonse were on the bottom of the tapestry, all three sharing a line that lead to the man directly above them.

The man, Lorenzo Von Trapp, was clearly the father of the boys. Aerie could definitely see where they got their looks. Marco himself was the spitting image of the man.

"So that's your father?" She asked, placing her hand over Lorenzo's embroidered portrait.

"Uh huh."

She looked to Lorenzo's right, where the portrait of a beautiful woman was sewn on. "Who's this?"

"Our mom, Emelia. They say she was nice, but I wouldn't know. She died giving birth to me."

"Ah." Now that she looked closer, she saw the woman's death date was written in thread. "I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know my mother either."

Alphonse was about to say something else when a servant approached them. She offered them a curtsy, then proceeded to say, "Master Alphonse, I was sent to tell you that your father wishes to speak with you in his study." Alphonse nodded. The servant then turned to Aerie. "Miss Aerie, I am going to escort you back to your room. I am to help you prepare for dinner tonight."

"Guess I gotta go, then. I'll see you at dinner, Miss Aerie." Alphonse began to walk away.

"Alphonse!" He turned back to look at her. "Enough with the 'miss' stuff already!" He chuckled and waved her off. Aerie glanced at the servant. "You too. I don't like being called 'miss'. My name's just Aerie."

"I am horribly sorry, Miss Aerie, but I was taught to treat the masters and guests with proper respect. I cannot possibly call you just Aerie."

Aerie sighed. I can't win every battle, it seems. "Fine, fine. So, lead away, please, Miss...?"

"Colette, ma'am. You may only call me Colette."

"I'm serious, Miss Colette, you're going to have to lead. I got lost for half an hour just trying to find my way down here." The servant turned to leave, but Aerie said, "Wait a minute. Do you think it would be fine if I took some of these books with me to read later?"

"It is fine, miss, just as long as you bring them back."

"Great, thanks!" Aerie grabbed four of the family history books and rejoined Colette at the door. She motioned for the maid to go ahead, and she obliged. This time, Aerie memorized the path she took to her room.

~...~

Eliza woke up with a groan. She felt lightheaded and dizzy, more than likely an aftereffect of the dart shot into her neck.

_This seems familiar_, she noted with a grunt. She was in a simple wooden cage, along with all of the other pirates that had come ashore. Eliza was really getting sick of the amount of times she seemed to be waking up in cages.

"Hey, she's awake!" One of the other prisoners in the cage said. The redhead only scoffed in reply.

"How are you feeling?" Thatch asked. He had woken up about five minutes before she had, and the symptoms caused by the dart had yet to leave his system yet.

"Horrible. How many islands is it now that I've woken to find myself a prisoner again?"

"I know what you mean." Thatch looked around at their comrades. "These crazy islanders took all of our weapons. We can't get out without risking getting shot again, and we have nothing to fight back with. Besides, we can't really leave at the moment, anyway."

"Why not?" Thatch didn't give a verbal response, but instead nodded at something behind Eliza's back. She followed his line of sight, then groaned in disbelief. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

The islanders had set up a throne, made out of wood from the surrounding trees and decorated with bones. The throne was painted with the war paint the natives had used on themselves. And sitting on that throne, looking about as happy as a wet chicken, was Izo. All around his makeshift chair, natives danced and sang songs, probably praising the okama. To his right, in another wooden cage, was Apollo the eagle, fast asleep. In front of him, a fire was starting to blaze, and islanders were constructing what appeared to be a spit over it.

Eliza would have laughed at the okama if the situation wasn't so serious. She decided she would escape first, and laugh at her friend later. She was actually very glad to see the eagle alive and well. It only proved that Aerie had been on the island. Eliza just hoped that the natives hadn't gotten to her and Marco first.

The islanders had abandoned their singing and dancing for now and were focusing on making the fire bigger. The people in the cage suddenly had a very good idea as to what it was going to be used for when the islanders were pointing at them enthusiastically and pointing back to the fire, obviously trying to tell Izo what was being planned. One islander took the crossdresser's hand and brought him to the cage, signaling that he should pick out one of the pirates.

Izo jerked his hand away and snapped, "I am not eating one of them!"

The islander looked confused and said something to another standing by. Together, they both tried to convince Izo to choose one of the prisoners for an afternoon snack. Izo again snapped out that he was not eating one of his crew mates, and stomped back to his throne. He sat down in a huff and glared at the pirates, as if it was their fault they had been captured by the natives in the first place.

Shrugging to each other, the cannibals chose one of the pirates themselves. Unfortunately, they decided on Thatch, who began pitching a fit over why should he be the first one to be roasted alive when there were other, meatier specimens to choose from. He was tied to a long stick and placed over the roaring fire. Eliza could only roll her eyes when he began to dramatize being put on a spit over a flame. Comically, he tried blowing it out, but it did nothing at all.

Eliza sighed and looked at the other prisoners. Most of them were panicking over Thatch being cooked alive, while the others were trying to make a plan to escape. Instead of doing either, Eliza turned back to Izo. "Hey, Izo, what's the big deal? Why're they worshippin' you and tryin' to feed us to you?"

"I think they're cannibals, Elizabeth. They seem to believe I'm a queen or a goddess of some sort." Izo sighed and pushed his ebony hair out of his eyes. "Not only that, but I think they want to sacrifice me as well and try to force my soul to go into Apollo's body.

"Cheery fellows, aren't they?" The redhead massaged her temples. "You wouldn't happen to have your pistols on you, would you?"

"I do, but unfortunately, they relieved me of my spare ammunition."

In the background, Thatch was yelling out how he was getting burned. Eliza glanced at him and saw that the front of his shirt and pants had indeed been singed off. She knew it was just an act though; even from here, she could see Thatch's smirk. He had a plan, and he was doing a horrible job of acting like he didn't.

Eliza gave the islanders five minutes before he got free and raised hell. She saw Thatch beginning to wiggle in his bonds. Better make that three minutes.

~...~

"Getting ready" for a dinner that didn't start until seven when it was only four in the afternoon did not make a lot of sense to Aerie. That is, until Colette told her what "getting ready" entailed.

First: Aerie was led back to her room on the third floor, where she saw a handful of other maids there to help her. These maids utterly stripped her of her clothes and dignity and pushed her into the large, marble bathtub in the room's adjoining bathroom. Aerie was brutally cleaned by this team of servants and jerked out of the bathtub before the water even had the chance to cool off.

Second: The maids expertly toweled her off and put her in a fluffy bathrobe. They then place her in front of a vanity and carefully curled her hair into large rollers. Aerie was about to protest, but they quickly covered her face in some sort of exfoliating mud, so she could not move her mouth.

Third: While she had this weird mud on her face, the maids gave her a complete manicure and pedicure. Aerie was definitely not used to this kind of attention, but she was scolded if she tried to jerk her hands or feet away.

Fourth: Once the mani and pedi were done, the mud was scrubbed off her face and makeup was applied, despite all of the protests coming from the pirate. Her hair, now dry, was released form the curlers and styled so it framed her face. She was then dragged away from the mirror and taken into the walk-in closet that branched off from the bathroom. The maids pulled down several different dresses and held them up to her body, trying to determine which one fit Aerie best.

Before they could do that, though, a slip was placed over her body and a corset around her torso. It was tightened by an unnaturally buff maid, who expertly pulled the strings back and tied them. Finally, the dress was pulled down over her head and Aerie was forced to stand in front of a mirror. Strappy heels were fastened on her feet, and a gold necklace was strung around her neck.

Aerie frowned at her reflection. She didn't like the whole "getting ready" notion. It seemed like and awful lot of work for a dinner that probably wouldn't last longer than an hour. She looked pretty, yes, but she didn't enjoy it. The maids, meanwhile, were giving each other high fives and congratulations over her appearance.

She did have to hand it to them, though. The dress was a gorgeous cerulean with gold embellishments. It was snug around the upper body, but fanned out at the hips. It complimented the color of her eyes perfectly. Her dark brown hair, normally stick straight, was beautifully curled and hung down to the middle of her back. The makeup on her face was hardly noticeable at all, only a bit of color on her cheeks and some stuff around her eyes that made them seem bigger and brighter.

"Miss, don't frown, it doesn't suit you," Colette said at her elbow. Aerie dropped the frown and put on a neutral expression. The maid sighed and tried stretching her mouth into a smile. Aerie swatted her hands away with a warning look. "It's almost seven, ma'am. Shall I show you the way to the grand staircase? I believe Master Damien is waiting for you there."

_Oh, yeah, I forgot I had a date tonight with the one-man dick-squad_. "If you wouldn't mind. I'm afraid I'll get lost again."

With a hum of agreement, Colette led Aerie back down the hallway to the staircase, with the troop of servants right behind her. Confident she couldn't get lost going down the stairs, Aerie took the lead, making sure not to trip in the heels she was wearing. Much to her dismay, Damien was waiting at the base of the stairs.

"Why, Miss Aerie," he said, his eyes trailing up and down her figure, "you look ravishing."

Aerie pushed down the gag that threatened to leave her mouth. "Thank you," she said diplomatically. Damien wore a gray silk suit, with the top few buttons of his shirt left open. He held out his arm, and she took it without so much as a grimace, adopting her neutral expression again. The servants dispersed, leaving Aerie alone with her commander's older brother.

It had been two days since Aerie had seen Marco, which means it had been three when she left the ship. She briefly wondered if the others were looking for them or if they had sailed off without them.

Damien drew her out of her thinking. "A penny for your thoughts, my dear, though they are truly worth a fortune."

"I'm thinking about how Marco and I are going to leave here. Is there another gate on the fence we can leave through?"

To her surprise, he laughed. "I wouldn't count on it, love. There is only one gate, and you would have to fight the staff in the household. After that, there is a jungle and cannibals before you even make the beach. Not only that, but your precious Marco is not in any condition to be doing any fighting. How strong are you?"

"Strong enough. And what do you mean 'not in any condition to fight'? What have you done to Marco?"

"Patience, dearest. You will be reunited with him soon enough." He guided her to the dining room doors.

The dining room itself was enormous. It was three stories tall, with arched ceilings and a balcony running around the perimeter. On one wall up on the balcony was a large pipe organ, which was currently silent. On either side of the room were three fireplaces, six altogether, each having a roaring fire inside. The table was set with elegant silverware and china, sparkling in the light. Aerie's golden eyes widened slightly. This was exactly the sort of thing her father had expected her to attend as a high-ranking Marine. It was so gorgeous, it didn't seem real.

Alphonse was already in the room when Aerie and Damien came in. Like Damien, he was wearing a suit, but his was black and he wore an electric blue tie with it. He grinned at her and walked over from his place at one of the fireplaces.

"Miss Aerie, you made it! I was worried you would get wrapped up in those books in the library," he said.

"I didn't even get the chance to start them," she answered. "I was dragged back to my room and forced to bathe."

"I'm sorry. I hate taking a bath, too. You look very nice, though."

"Thank you, Alphonse," Aerie said politely, much more so than when she responded to Damien's compliment. Alphonse grinned, an action that reminded her of his missing older brother.

"You didn't tell me you had acquainted yourself with our guest, Alphonse," Damien cut in.

"Didn't realize I have to report to you every time I do anything, Damien," he responded curtly. "Do I need to ask permission to wipe every time I go to the bathroom as well?"

"Alphonse!" A sharp voice shouted from the doorway. Through it stalked an older, portly woman in a black dress. Her graying hair was pulled into a tight bun, and a furious expression was on her face. "Do not speak to your older brother in that tone!"

Alphonse scowled at the woman, whom Aerie could only assume was his caretaker. "Yes, Nurse. I must keep my mouth shut and never voice my opinion, you've told me countless times."

"Yet you never seem to remember it."

"Probably because I'm the only one who has an original opinion here, and the only one who has ever been told to watch my mouth."

"Bite your tongue, young master!" The woman grabbed his ear and dragged his face down so she could look him in the eye. He was apparently used to it, because he didn't flinch from her hand or try to move his head away. "Master Marco used to be the same way, you know. Look where that has gotten him."

"Now, now, Miss Withers," Damien said soothingly, removing his arm from Aerie's to pat her back, "let's not discuss family matters before dinner. It does upset you so, after all."

This seemed to calm the woman down. With a final scowl, she released her grip on Alphonse's ear and stepped away. She took a deep breath and smoothed out her dress over her rotund figure. "You're right, Master Damien. We should not discuss such things now. Save it for desert." Aerie didn't miss the underlying message in their words: don't talk about it in front of Marco's friend.

"That's the spirit! Now, Miss Withers, allow me to introduce Miss Aerie. She is a friend of Marco's and our guest."

Miss Withers gave Aerie a disapproving look. "I see. Nice to meet you." Her tone said she was not, in fact, pleased to meet the pirate.

Aerie gave her a fake smile. "Likewise," she said, matching the nurse's tone. Her eye's met Damien's, and she saw the message there: _you are alone here, and you cannot escape._ However, she glanced at Alphonse and saw the quietly furious look he aimed at the back of his brother's head. _Seems like I'm not completely alone here after all._

"Shall we sit down?" Damien asked after a moment of tense silence. They all moved to take their places at the table: Damien sat to the right of the head and Miss Withers to the left; Alphonse sat beside his nurse and Aerie sat by his brother. Damien gave her his most charming smile, which she returned with a sarcastic one of her own.

As if on cue, servants began bringing in soup and setting it in front of each person. A bowl of soup was also set at the head of the table, even though no one was sitting there.

"What about Mister Von Trapp? Is he not joining us tonight?" Aerie asked with fake politeness. Truthfully, she didn't care if the man showed up or not.

"Master Lorenzo will join us shortly. He had business to attend to with one of his clients. He requested we begin dinner without him," Miss Withers stated, taking a spoonful of soup.

"How gracious of him," Alphonse muttered around his spoon.

"Alphonse, do not speak of your father in that way!"

"It's the truth! The only one who ever talks to him is Damien and the maids who bring him food!" Alphonse glared at his nurse. "All he ever does is talk about the stupid family business! I hardly see him anymore!"

"Why do you insist on acting like a child?"

"I don't know, probably because I'm only fourteen years old! I _am_ a child!"

"Enough!" Damien yelled, slamming down his glass. He glared at both people, who immediately became silent. Miss Withers composed her expression and remained calm, while Alphonse glowered at his bowl. Aerie felt pity for the kid sitting across from her. So, she did what pirates did best: she butted in to the conversation and inserted her opinion.

"My dad left me alone a lot, too," she said suddenly. Alphonse raised his gaze to stare at her, as did the rest of the table. "I mean, he was there for me when I was young, but as soon as I could take care of myself well enough, he left me at home for long amounts of time. There were other people in the community who came by and checked to make sure I was still alive, but for the most part I was by myself with my two friends. That continued until I was about fifteen." She offered him a small smile. "Maybe that's the root of why I became a pirate in the first place."

Alphonse stared at her in awe. Judging from the expression on his face, no one had said anything in his favor in front of other people before. There was complete silence in the dining room. His awestruck face turned into a genuine smile, which she gladly returned.

The moment was ruined by the appearance of a butler at the dining room's door. "Master Lorenzo Von Trapp," he announced. All the heads on the table turned to the door, where the head of the household walked through the door.

He was tall, Aerie noted, and emitted an air of confidence that put Marco's to shame. He had tan skin, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, like all three of his sons. On his face was a disarmingly-charming smile. He, too, wore a suit and tie, but he carried it well, like he wore one every day. His smile revealed perfect, white teeth. In short, he was every bit as handsome as his three boys.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone," he said in the most laid-back tone possible. "Couldn't be avoided, I'm afraid. My client insisted on going over every fine detail." He ambled his way over to the table, stopping behind Alphonse's chair. He ruffled his son's hair affectionately. "Alphonse, my boy, how does the evening find you?"

"Fine." Alphonse replied shortly, taking sudden interest in his soup.

"Excellent." Lorenzo turned to the nurse. "Miss Withers, you look as beautiful as ever."

"Oh, Master Lorenzo, you make me blush," the fat nurse replied, honestly blushing.

The man chuckled and made his way to his older son. "Damien, my successor, what is new with you?"

Damien returned the smile and grasped his father's arm kindly. "Nothing, father. Business as usual."

"Of course, of course." Finally his gaze met Aerie's. "You must be Miss Aerie. An honor to meet you, my lady."

Looking into his eyes, Aerie felt like she was staring at a deadly predator, one that looked charming and innocent on the outside, but was a dangerous killer on the inside. She swallowed and offered a fleeting smile. "An honor to meet you, too, Mister Von Trapp."

Lorenzo nodded and took his seat. He placed his napkin in his lap and picked up a spoon. "Well, I'm famished. What's for dinner?"

* * *

**It was going to go longer, but I decided to end it there. Is anyone confused? To clarify: two days ago, the rest of the crew sent a landing arty to the island and were captured by cannibals. Izo was made their queen, and Thatch has made a plan to escape. Meanwhile, in the present, Aerie is at dinner with the Von Trapps and Miss Withers. I know, I'm confused too. It'll get better, I promise.**

**To be honest, I was not completely "there" when I wrote this chapter. So, I will likely go back and edit it a bit, especially the parts centered around the rest of the crew. Unless, of course, you guys like it... :)**

**Guys, guys, guys I got a keyboard for my iPad! I can type so much more efficiently now! YAY! Hopefully that means updates will be sooner too! Fingers crossed!**

**Again, thanks so much for taking time to read this God-awful chapter! And thanks in advance for favoriting, following, and reviewing! AND THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR GETTING THIS STORY UP TO 10,000 VIEWS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**Love,**

**Batman**


	19. Chapter 18: What About Now?

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed, not to mention those who read the story! XOXO!**

**Savage Kill: AAAAHHHHHH SAVAGE KILL YOU'RE BACK! I'VE MISSED HEARING FROM YOU! Haha, that being said, did you really think it wasn't confusing? I'm not joking, I had a skull-splitting headache, crap was dripping from my nose, and I couldn't breathe right. As a matter of fact, I still can't breathe right, but am insisting on practicing my french horn. I'm dizzy! (Sorry for that description, but that was how my day was yesterday and the day before.) Hmm... I didn't think of that. Sounds good to me though! I think I might try it! Yeah, I would hate wearing that, too! I mean, the dress would be slightly bearable, but that corset? Nuh uh, no way, man! As always, thank you so much for the awesome review and reading the story!**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Yes! So hopefully that clarified a few things! YOUR MARCO?! No, he's mine! Just kidding, haha. It's a shame I did what? Yeah, the crew does know he's a thief, but they don't know about his family. Don't worry, I'll explain more later! Yes, Whitebeard is a Yonko, and Gol D. Roger is still alive. He will be executed later, I promise. As always, thanks for the awesome (and hilarious) review!**

**Son of Whitebeard: Ya got that right! Thanks for the review!**

**tuskkins: Aye, aye! Thanks for reviewing!**

**DarkAngelLida: Miss Withers is a hag. Poor Alphonse having to deal with her all the time! Yes, he is a cutie! ^.^ Heh, that sounds like a good suggestion! I don't know if that will happen, but it's a good possibility. Don't worry, Marco will make his reappearance soon! Oh, yes, something has happened to him...he was kidnapped! Haha, in all seriousness, something has happened to him, but you'll find out what later. Thanks so much for the awesome review!**

**mks 12 98: :D I'm glad you like him! Thanks for reviewing!**

**RainbowGuardian13: Aww thank you! That is so sweet of you! Thanks for taking the time to read and review!**

**Guest: Fozzie Bear: I know it was confusing -_- Bear with me though, it should be cleared up at the end of this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!**

**WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of nudity, blood, language, and somewhat suggestive themes. Nothing too serious, though. Gotta keep it PG.**

* * *

Chapter 18: What About Now?

Lorenzo's arrival at dinner helped dissipate the tense atmosphere that was present in the dining room, but it did not leave entirely. Alphonse ate his meal in neutral silence, while his father, brother, and nurse chatted amicably. Aerie answered questions when asked and replied when spoken to, but other than that, kept her smart mouth shut for once.

The appetizer of soup was soon finished, and they moved on to the main course, a handsome, roasted sea king. It was seasoned very well, and was quite delicious, but somehow didn't taste as good as the sea kings caught on the _Moby Dick_.

"Miss Aerie?" Lorenzo asked. Aerie pulled her head up and looked him in the eyes. He was staring at her expectantly, like he was waiting for her to answer something.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Certainly. I was just observing how troubled you looked. What's on your mind? Is the meal not to your liking?"

"Oh, no, sir, the meal is very delicious. I was just thinking about my crew. I was almost eaten by a sea king last week, and they saved me and turned it into dinner." She smiled nostalgically.

Lorenzo placed his elbows on the table and turned his full attention on her. "Is that so?" He murmured. He took a sip of his wine. "I want to hear about this."

Aerie found herself recounting the story to the people there. By the time she was done, Miss Withers looked disgusted, Alphonse was awestruck, and Damien and Lorenzo were impressed.

"You certainly know how to tell a story," Damien said, scooting his chair a little bit closer to hers.

Miss Withers sniffed. "Yes, but to think a lady is in the same vicinity as all of those men is just dishonorable."

"No, it isn't. We have separate sleeping and bathing areas, and we respect each other because we're like a family." Aerie said, narrowing her eyes.

Lorenzo cleared his throat while shooting Miss Withers a warning look. "Of course you are. Tell me, Miss Aerie, how is it you managed to capture the attention of my son?"

Aerie shot a glance to Damien, who was looking like he was about to start inching further. "From what I can see, it doesn't take much to capture his attention."

Alphonse choked on the water he was drinking. Miss Withers looked like she was about to lunge across the table and strangle her. Damien looked like he had swallowed a lemon.

Lorenzo, however, chuckled. "Amusing, Miss Aerie, but I was referring to my other son."

"Oh. Well, I didn't give him a lap dance like Miss Withers seems to think."

Alphonse coughed behind his hand, obviously hiding laughter. Damien took a drink of wine to hide a smirk. Miss Withers had turned the same shade as a tomato.

"Master Lorenzo, I do not have to tolerate this kind of harassment!" She snarled.

"Harassment?" Aerie leaned forward and put her own elbows on the table. "Forgive me, but weren't you the one who implied I was doing those things to my crew mates? Doesn't that make me the victim of harassment?"

"Bite your tongue when speaking to your elders!" She snapped back.

Aerie was about to snap something back when Lorenzo cleared his throat again, louder this time. "Miss Withers, please. Aerie is our guest. She will be treated with utmost respect." The portly nurse glared daggers at the pirate from across the table. "Thank you. No, Miss Aerie, I was merely asking because he has been enquiring about you for the past few days. He doesn't say anything else, just asks how you are doing."

The pirate looked taken aback. Of course he was asking about her. Just as they were being brought into the foyer of the house three days ago, he grabbed Damien by the lapel and growled, _"If you hurt her, I will kill you."_ She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and looked down, finding interest in the table. All of her questions about him lead to silence from the servants. Wherever he was, the only thing he talked about was her.

"May I ask where he is?" She said quietly.

"You may. But I will not tell you."

"Why?" Her head whipped up and she stared at him. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because you'll see for yourself soon enough." Lorenzo took another sip of wine. "As I'm sure you're aware, Marco's name is mud in this household. He did not leave on the best of terms last time. As his father, it is my job to punish him."

Aerie frowned. She could see the logic in his argument; Whitebeard would take the same stance if it was his son that had done something against his family. It didn't make the pill any easier to swallow, though.

"Please try to see this from my point of view, Miss Aerie. What would your own father say and do if you had done what he had done?"

"I think she would understand more, father," Damien said, "if she knew why Marco is being punished in the first place."

"You may be right, my son. However, she may want to hear it from Marco himself. I have this distinct feeling she does not trust any of us. Am I right?"

Aerie nodded. "Would you, were you in my place?"

Lorenzo chuckled again. "Touché, my dear. However, I might add I have given you every reason to trust me. I have given you food, shelter, clothing, and I have not killed you yet."

"Which begs the question: why haven't you killed me?"

"I made an agreement." Seeing her confused face, he explained further. "When Marco was first brought to me three nights ago, we made a deal. He said, _'If you agree to not harm Aerie, you can do whatever you want to me and I won't fight. If she's hurt in any way, I will burn this place to the ground again.'_ I know my son's reputation, and I know what lengths he will go to keep a promise. I'm the one benefitting; I have my son back, and all I have to do is entertain a guest for a while."

Aerie thought this over. "I'm surprised you would actually make a deal with him, if what he did is as bad as you're implying."

"I am nothing but a generous and loving father. But do not make the mistake of thinking anyone in this house is on your side, Miss Aerie. If you try anything, I will strike back, deal or not." Aerie met his stare for a few moments, then looked back at the table. She got the message loud and clear: _I will kill you in a heartbeat._

"Now, enough of these thoughts. It's getting late and I'm sure you are tired, Miss Aerie. Damien, would you mind escorting her to her room?"

"Of course not, father," Damien said, standing up and pushing his chair back under the table. "That is, if the lady does not mind?"

Aerie caught the pointed glance Lorenzo was sending her. "Certainly not. I would enjoy the company," she lied, getting to her feet and taking the arm he offered her.

"Splendid! Oh, before I forget," Aerie looked back over her shoulder at him, "there is a surprise waiting for you in your room, Miss Aerie. Something I'm sure you'll like very much."

Aerie furrowed her brow. She didn't trust this man, not in the slightest. Nevertheless, she nodded and said, "Thank you, Mister Lorenzo. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Sleep well." He replied, finishing off his wine.

"'Night, Miss Aerie!" Alphonse said with a small wave. Aerie smiled and waved back. She didn't bother saying goodnight to Miss Withers, the old bat.

She and Damien walked out of the dining room and down the hall to the grand staircase. She was glad to be out from the scrutinizing stare of Lorenzo and the nurse, but that left her with one problem:

"Did I tell you you look absolutely radiant tonight, my dear? Because you do."

_Why, why, why couldn't Alphonse come with me? _"Yes, you have mentioned that already, Damien."

"Well, I must say it again. You are truly beautiful."

Aerie turned to him and narrowed his eyes. His expression seemed sincere, but there was a glint in his eyes that suggested he had more..._adult_ intentions behind his words. She could practically feel him stripping her of her garments with his gaze.

"What do you want from me?" She asked.

He looked at her with false hurt. "Dearest, I think you misjudge me. I mean every word."

She snorted and turned back to watch their progress up the final stairs to the third floor. He sighed and shook his head. However, Damien Von Trapp was not one to back down from a challenge, especially a challenge like Aerie.

"What shall I compare you too? A rose in full bloom? The moon reflecting the sun? An apple, just ripe for the picking?" They had stopped in front of her door now, and he leaned in closer to her with each statement.

Aerie backed up as far as she could, feeling the door against her back much too soon for her liking. She glared strongly at Damien, gold eyes flashing dangerously. This did nothing to deter him, though; he just leaned in more.

She could feel his breath fanning across her lips and her stare intensified. He kept eye contact remarkably well, for most men would have been running for the hills from the strength of her glare. The closer he got, the more she began to internally panic.

_Ah crap! What do I do? I don't want to kiss him!_ She thought frantically, bringing her hands up to push him away. As she raised her arms, her arm brushed the steel doorknob of the door against her back. She frantically grasped it, breathing a sigh of relief when she remembered it opened to the inside.

Damien wasn't expecting her to disappear like she did, literally a second before he would have closed the distance between them. He definitely was not expecting the door to slam shut in his face, either. He straightened and scowled at the wooden barrier between him and the woman he was trying to woo. Sighing, he began walking down the hallway back to the dining room. Looks like he would have to try again later.

Aerie was also sighing, but she was sighing with relief when she heard Damien's footsteps go down the hallway. She leaned against the door for a moment before realizing that her room was dark, with the only exception being the orange glow from the fireplace.

Weird, I thought the lights were left on when I left. She looked at the fire, momentarily entranced by the dancing flames. Her gaze moved to the floor at her feet, and she was intrigued to find a trail of red droplets on the wood.

Aerie crouched down and dabbed her finger in one of the drops. She pulled it back and inspected it. She placed it in her mouth, only to pull it back out at the sharp, metallic taste. _Blood? What's going on here?_

Her eyes followed the red trail to one of the two large chairs in front of the fireplace in the room. A small puddle was slowly forming beneath the chair, confirming that the source of the blood was still there. Suddenly having a horrible sense of foreboding, she stood and walked slowly along the path, careful not to step into the small drops of red.

Moving so she could see by the light of the fire, Aerie finally came in front of the chair. Her eyes widened in shock, and she felt her chest clench in fear. Her hands flew to her mouth as she whispered one word:

"Marco..."

Suddenly, Lorenzo's parting words came back to her. _There is a surprise waiting for you in your room, Miss Aerie. Something I think you will like very much._

* * *

_Two days earlier..._

Eliza really questioned Thatch's sense of sanity sometimes. On one hand, he was trying to escape from his bonds to free his brothers and sister from being eaten by cannibals. On the other hand, he was trying to do so while suspended over a roaring fire.

His bonds, like she predicted, were burning quicker than he was. However, during the past few minutes of being roasted alive, the ends of his prized pompadour had become singed, causing a string of curses to fly from his mouth and his struggling to intensify.

The redhead could only sigh as she watched him free himself as the cannibals looked on in shock. They chattered amongst themselves and warily approached the spit where he was bound.

"Back, savages!" Thatch cried dramatically, finally managing to break the bonds around his chest. His body began to fall forward into the fire and he screamed, twisting back to grab the pole he was tied to.

"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT TO HAPPEN?!" The imprisoned pirates shouted at him, their teeth turning oddly sharp.

Thatch ignored them and wiggled his legs until the ropes slipped off of them, too. He wrapped his arms and legs around the pole and looked around him thoughtfully.

"Huh," he muttered. "I didn't think I would get this far."

"WHY ARE YOU ONLY CONSIDERING THIS NOW?!" Izo yelled from his throne.

"I thought you would save me!"

"Moron, how am I supposed to do that?!"

"I told you, I didn't think I would get this far!"

Izo groaned and slumped forward into his hands. He was about to reply to Thatch when another voice called out from the edge of the clearing.

"What the hell is going on here?!" The voice belonged to a man standing at the edge of the clearing. He was tan, like the cannibals, but he wore a torn t-shirt and ripped shorts rather than a loin cloth. He had a backpack on his back and a spear in his hand. Behind him, he dragged a beast of some sort.

The stood in shock as he saw the fire, the spit, the cage full of pirates, and the throne. His eyes slowly traveled over the scene until they rested on the island's natives.

"What are you guys doing?!" He demanded again.

Much to the surprise of the pirates, one of the islanders spoke up. "We're killing them," he answered simply while pointing at the cage.

"Since when can you speak English?" Thatch yelled from the fire. His question was ignored.

The man at the edge of the clearing sighed heavily and pushed a tan hand through his thick, brown hair. "Why?" He asked finally.

"So they know we mean business!" Another native called out. His declaration was followed by a cheer from the other islanders.

"Then why is he," the man pointed at Izo, "sitting up there? And what's with the bird?"

"Ah. That's our new queen!"

"I'm a man!" Izo objected.

"And the bird is a sacrifice to the Thunderbird!"

The man rolled his eyes to the sky. "Oh, come on, guys. You can't be serious! You know that thing is just the result of a Devil Fruit! Now, let these people go, they haven't done anything to us!"

"But, Silas!" One of the islanders shouted. "They could be with the Von Trapps!"

_Von Trapps? Why does that name sound familiar? _Eliza asked herself. Before she could ask, the man called Silas responded, "Do they honestly look like one of them?"

"Well," the natives shifted uncomfortably, "no, not really."

After another bit of arguing, the pirates were not deemed a serious threat. Silas insisted the fire be extinguished and everyone be let out of their cages, even Apollo. He apologized profusely to the outlaws, who, for the most part, shrugged it off as no big deal.

The most part being everyone except Thatch, who was still upset over the whole almost-being-roasted part of their relationship.

"It's really not a problem," Izo said to Silas for the umpteenth time. "I have to ask, though, why were your men pretending to be cannibals?"

"Ah," Silas said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, you see, ten years ago, we were shipwrecked on this island. We've been living alone here and surviving ever since. Up until about six or seven years, when the Von Trapps came, we were alone."

"You mentioned them before," Eliza said. "Who are they?"

Silas frowned. "They're an extremely wealthy family from the South Blue. They're famous, or rather, infamous, for thievery. It's a tradition for them, actually. As soon as they landed, they began killing off our men. We made this charade of cannibalism in order to keep them away from us."

"Makes sense." Thatch said. He rubbed his chin with his hand. "Where are they?"

"Their mansion is on the west side of the island." Silas tipped his head in the direction.

A wicked grin came over the pompadoured commander's face. "I wonder what kind of treasure they've got holed up in there."

Silas's eyes widened and he began to shake his head rapidly. "Oh, no, no, no. You do not steal from the Von Trapps. The head of the family, Lorenzo, is completely ruthless. He has no mercy for those that cross him."

Thatch looked unimpressed. "Well, it's not like we have the best reputation for playing nice, either. We're pirates, not saints."

Silas was astounded that these people would even consider playing against people as dangerous as the family of thieves. He was going to try to convince them otherwise, but something told him these pirates wouldn't listen to his warnings.

Eliza spoke up next. "Look, we've troubled you long enough, and we need to get back to our ship. Before we go, have you by chance seen a man and a woman? The man is kinda tall, blonde, has an obvious tattoo on his chest; and the woman is average height, bright, gold eyes?"

The islander frowned. "No, I'm sorry. It appears the only visitors we have seen are you and your bird friend there."

Eliza sighed. "Alright, thanks for your help. We really need to be getting back, now. Thanks again."

"My pleasure. If there is anything you need while you are here, please ask."

The pirates agreed and left the small village. They made their way back to the ship through the jungle in almost complete silence, the quiet being disturbed through the curses at the insect life.

They made it to the beach as the sun set on the horizon. As they boarded the lifeboats, Izo listed what had happened that day. They had explored an uncharted island, discovered a group of people pretending to be cannibals, and gained knowledge of a dangerous family on the other side of the island.

"But, still, no sign of Aerie or Marco," Izo finished with a sigh.

Eliza frowned. She couldn't help but feel something weird was going on on the island. She examined the large burn on Apollo's chest area with concern. Once they were back on the ship, she would treat it. Unfortunately, the bird could not tell where he had got it from.

"What do you think about those thieves, Izo? Think we might score some cash while we're here?" Thatch asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I think we need to be cautious. They might have something stored at their mansion, but Silas says they're dangerous." Izo placed a hand on his chin. "I can't help but think they may be responsible for our missing crew mates."

"Oh, quit being so pessimistic!" Thatch clapped the crossdresser on the back. "I'm sure they're fine. Anyway, I think we should mention this to Pops. We could always use the extra beli."

* * *

_Present day..._

Marco was in rough shape. Blood dripped from numerous wounds on his chest and arms, soaking the fabric of the chair and splattering the wood floor. Aerie sucked in a breath at the particularly deep x-shaped gash splitting through the center of his chest, slicing his prized tattoo diagonally. On his wrist was a metal bracelet, which Aerie suspected was made of kairoseki metal.

He appeared to be asleep, his head down, chin resting on his ruined chest. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not, so Aerie reached out a hand to touch his neck and check for a pulse. She gasped as his tan fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist at lightning speed. His eyelids snapped open and he focused an intense look of anger on her face. Aerie forgot how to breathe as a murderous aura emitted from his electric blue irises.

Finally, Aerie found her voice. "Marco, what happened to you?"

His eyes seemed to focus on her for the first time, and his face relaxed into a tired and weary expression. He slumped in the chair. "My father happened, yoi."

_I knew I couldn't trust him!_ "Dear God," she whispered, horrified at her friend's state.

"Well, I knew I shouldn't have expected a warm, fuzzy welcome when I came home." He chuckled weakly. "Father was never really pleasant growing up."

Aerie was at a loss for words. How could he joke at a time like this? She tugged on her captive hand, and he released it from his vice-like grip with an apologetic smile. She moved her hand down to touch the wound criss-crossing his muscular chest. He hissed a breath and jerked away from her fingers.

"Sorry," she said, retracting her hand. "Why would he do this?"

Marco looked away. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Why not?" Aerie knew she was probably overstepping her bounds, but she wanted to know why someone would attack her commander. Why someone would dare harm one of Whitebeard's sons in such a manner.

His face darkened. "I said I don't want to talk about it, so drop it."

"Was it something that happened in your past?"

"Aerie, I'm serious. You need to drop it, yoi."

She wasn't going to give up, though. "Why won't you tell me? Don't you trust me?" She asked, her voice rising in volume.

"Did you trust me with your past when you first met me?" He shot back.

"So you don't trust me!"

"Of course I trust you!"

"Then tell me, please! I want to help you!"

"I don't need your help, yoi!" He yelled. "It's my past, so it's my problem. You don't need to get involved, you'll just get hurt." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Aerie, please, listen to me for once. My father is an extremely dangerous, merciless man. I don't want to see you get hurt because you're fighting him on my account."

Aerie sighed. She didn't want to argue with him anymore. "Alright, fine. I won't ask." He released a breath in relief. "But like it, or not, I'm already involved." She tugged Marco to his feet. She caught him as he begun to tip forward and supported his weight by putting her arm around his waist. She led him to the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. "Let's get you cleaned up." He made a small sound of protest, but shut up with a warning look from his subordinate.

Aerie took him into the bathroom and gingerly sat him on the toilet. Next, she moved to the marble bathtub and began running hot water. She dumped in a mixture of soaps and bath salts, like she had seen the maids do that afternoon. Once the tub was filled with bubbles and steaming water, she turned back to Marco...

...who had decided to undress himself while her back was turned, and was now in his birthday suit.

She immediately turned back to the tub and covered her eyes with her hands. Her face turned a shocking shade of red and she let out a high-pitched shriek.

"What are you doing?" She squeaked.

"Well, I'm not taking a bath in my clothes, yoi," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, but did you have to do it while I'm in the room?"

"Aerie," he said exasperatedly, "you're going to have to help me. I can't clean and bandage myself with the position of some of these."

Her blush darkened, even though he couldn't see it. She tried taking deep breaths to calm herself, but it didn't appear to be working.

Marco sighed. "Look, how about I get into the tub while your eyes are closed? That way you won't see all of me?"

"It doesn't matter," she groaned. "I'll end up seeing..._it_ while I'm treating you."

He only sighed again, and she closed her eyes tighter as she felt him move past her and to the tub. She heard the water splash around a bit as he settled into the sudsy liquid.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now, yoi." She did as he said and opened her golden spheres to see him leaning tiredly against the edge of the tub, the bubbles and water around him already tinged pink.

"Right," she muttered, mostly to herself. She reached to her side where a sponge was sitting, when Marco spoke up again.

"Aren't you going to take off your dress?" He asked.

Aerie's face turned a whole new shade of crimson. "W-w-what?" She stammered.

"The dress. You'll ruin it in the water." He said it like he was obvious.

"I'm not taking off my-" She stopped when she heard a distinctive _zip_ sound. She turned her head over her shoulder and saw a tan hand pulling the zipper down on the back of her dress.

Aerie shrieked again and umped backwards, away from Marco's fingers. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She screamed.

Marco scowled. "You obviously weren't going to do it, yoi. I'm speeding up the process so we can get this over with."

"I'M HARDLY WEARING ANYTHING UNDERNEATH IT!"

"Calm down, Aerie. I'm not going to do anything to you."

"I'M NOT TOO SURE OF THAT!"

"My water is getting cold," he stated, crossing his arms. "Are you going to help me or are you going to sit there blushing like a teenager?"

Aerie scowled at him and left the room. She removed the dress away from Marco's eyes in the walk-in closet, leaving her in nothing but a slip and a corset. She walked back into the bathroom, snapping out, "Happy?"

He rolled his eyes again. "Thrilled. Now can you please help me?"

She moved back to the edge of the tub and grabbed the sponge. She soaked up some of the water and began scrubbing away the fresh and drying blood off his chest. She washed away everything on his front rather quickly, and was soon moving on to his back. Gently, she tipped Marco forward and began scrubbing his broad shoulders and spine. Even his back was riddled with cuts and bruises.

_Gah, cut it out Aerie!_ She mentally chided herself when she noticed herself admiring his impressive back muscles. Even if they were only friends, and that was stretching it sometimes, she did have to admit he was very well-developed.

Marco turned his head over his shoulder to watch her and chuckled.

"What?" Aerie demanded.

"You're blushing again, yoi," was all he said.

Sure enough, Aerie brought a hand up to her cheeks and felt the warmth of her face. This, of course, only caused her blush to darken again. She flicked water in his face and muttered, "Shut up, Marco."

He smirked and turned back around. "I didn't know you would enjoy this so much. Maybe we should-?" Before he could finish, Aerie took the back of his head and dunked it under water.

He coughed and spluttered when his head resurfaced. "What was that for?"

She crossed her arms. "For you making everything into some sort of innuendo, pervert. Contrary to what you think, I'm not interested in you like that."

As he was about to reply, she tossed the sponge to him. "I think you're capable of washing your lower half. I'm going to see what I can find for clothing for you." With that, she left the bathroom, closing the door gently behind her.

Marco stared at the door for a moment before breaking out into a grin. He loved this little game they played, he couldn't help it. Aerie was one of the only women he had ever met that could match his sharp tongue and only got flustered if things got too serious. It still annoyed him to no end when she refused to listen to him, though. Chuckling, he began to wash himself.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Aerie rubbed her face aggressively with her hands. Why did he have to do that all the time, turn their normally lively banter into some sort of innuendo? He was so frustrating sometimes. Moving away from the door, she went to the wardrobe in search of pants.

She soon found a pair that was suitable. Apparently, the room was also situated for a man to use, because there were dress shirts neatly pressed and folded in one drawer and slacks in another. There were even sets of pajamas in yet another drawer. She grabbed a pair of plaid pajama pants, knowing he wouldn't wear a shirt, even without his injuries.

She would need to get a little creative with the bandages, seeing as she didn't have any. Luckily, she found a cabinet on another wall of the room with silk sheets. She carried these and the pants into the bathroom.

Marco had just toweled himself off when she returned and was leaning against a wall of the room with a towel around his waist. Aerie tossed him the pants and a pair of boxers she had found and turned around to give him some privacy.

"Alright, you can turn around, yoi." He said after a moment.

Aerie checked over her shoulder to make sure he was actually dressed before turning around again. For a moment, she stared at the various cuts crossing over his chest. She frowned, then held out the sheets in her arms.

"I'll need some help tearing these. We don't have any bandages," she explained.

He shrugged and took some of the sheets. He ripped the silk fabric with ease, despite his strength being sapped away by the bathwater. Once the fabric was in strips, Aerie set to work wrapping it around his upper body and arms. Unfortunately, this meant she had to get very close to the blonde, a fact he seemed to be enjoying.

Both of them were silent as she wrapped and tied the strips around him, the only sound being the rustling of fabric against his skin. Finally, she finished and stood back to look at her work.

"Well, I'm no Eliza," she said eventually, "but it'll do until we can get back to the ship. Is that bracelet made of kairoseki?"

Marco nodded. "Yeah. They took the bullet out and put this on so I couldn't heal myself."

She held out her hand, and his put his in it. She turned his arm over to examine the bracelet and noticed a small keyhole in it. "Where's the key?" She asked.

"Father has it somewhere." He took his arm back and let it fall to his side. "What now?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I was hoping you would have a plan seeing as you already escaped once."

He shook his head. "Not yet, but I'm sure we'll think of something soon."

Aerie hummed and glanced out the window. "You should rest," she said after a moment. "You've had a long day, I'm sure."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to do some reading. Maybe I can find a weakness or something we can use against your father as a bargaining chip."

Marco snorted. "Good luck with that. Father likes his secrets."

"Well, unless you have a better idea, that's what I'll do for now." When he didn't offer anything, she walked back into the bedroom and sat in the not-bloodstained chair by the fireplace. "Goodnight, Marco."

"Night," he said sleepily, walking to the bed and climbing into it. Within seconds, he was asleep.

Aerie watched him sleep for a few minutes and turned back to her stack of books. Picking up the topmost one, she settled into the chair and began to read by the light of the fire.

* * *

**Eh...I'm not too sure about this one guys... I like parts of it, but other parts were kind of meh...**

**Anyway, did you guys appreciate the little Artful Phoenix scene there? (Special thanks to MonochromeRaven for the ship name!) I felt super awkward writing it. I don't know, I guess I'm just not romantic -_- at all. I'm thinking of possibly turning this into a Marco x OC story. Thoughts?**

**I have a confession... I have no idea where the crew is going next after they leave this island! I'm always open to ideas if y'all have any!**

**Thanks for taking the time to read! Favorite! Follow! REVIEW! And till next time, my lovelies!**

**~Batman**


	20. Chapter 19: It's Complicated

**Thanks so much to the people who favorited/followed/reviewed after the last chapter! You guys are amazing!**

**KeepHopeStayWhelmed: You think so? The more I think about it, the more I like the idea...it really depends on what you guys think, haha ^.^ I'm so glad you liked that scene, though! I honestly felt really awkward writing it because my mother was sitting next to me the entire time. :| Hehe, Aerie certainly doesn't think they're perfect for each other bwahaha that might change though. ;) Yes...JUSTICE IS COMING FOR YOU VON TRAPPS (except you Alphonse, you're too cute)! Thanks so much for reviewing!**

**Savage Kill: Thanks, buddy! :) Was it really? It was awkward to write because my mother was sitting next to me the entire time I wrote it... :| But I'm glad you liked it! Hmm..that sounds interesting! I literally have no inspiration for anything at the moment XP I do, however, know what I'm doing in the next chapter. Thanks for the idea, and thanks so much for the review!**

**mks 12 98: :D I'm glad you like him! Thanks for reviewing!**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Hmm... I think because he's already a Yonko he will have already saved Fishman Island. But that other one sounds interesting! No, I'm not done with the Von Trapps quite yet... ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

**tuskkins: Haha that seems to be the general opinion now! I might just have to change it ;). Who knows?! Thanks so much for the review!**

**RainbowGuardian13: Really? Hmm...I only asked for an opinion cause I get a lot of reviews asking if I'll end up hooking the two of them up. The original plan was for it to happen at the very end, maybe even ten or so years after the story ends. But now I'm not so sure...I have a lot planned for them to become closer friends but not much after that. Did you like that scene? It was really hard for me to write because my mom was sitting next to me the entire time I wrote it. ^.^' Awkward! Thanks for the offer I may take you up on that someday! I think I know what I want to happen next, but I gotta get them out of the mansion first! As always, thanks for the review!**

**MonochromeRaven: Hah me either! I won't include him, I promise! Thanks for the review!**

**Guest: Fozzie Bear: Thanks!**

**Zecrea: Bwahaha! That was a fun scene to write! (Did you catch my Pirates of the Caribbean references?) That seems to be the popular opinion now, so I'll update the summary when I finish the chapter. :) Next one should be out relatively soon, let's see how much homework I have this week . Yes, they will be meeting other people. :D Yes, now that you mention it, they haven't used haki yet. That's because I don't feel as though Aerie is strong-willed enough for it...but soon! She, along with the others, will mature in time. Thanks for the review!**

**WARNING: This chapter contains a poor plot. Sorry guys. :(**

* * *

Chapter 19: It's Complicated

It was dark when Marco woke up. His electric-blue eyes scanned the unfamiliar room for a moment, finally coming to rest on the fireplace. The fire had long since burned out, but the embers still glowed a bright red. In front of the fire, he could make out the silhouette of Aerie in the high-backed chair.

He slid off of the massive bed and stood up, actions that were annoyingly painful. He slowly walked up behind his friend in the chair.

She appeared to have fallen asleep reading the thick tome on her lap. Her head was tipped forward, chin resting on her chest. She hadn't changed clothes, either, from what he could see.

Gently, Marco lifted the book off of her lap and set it aside. He brushed her hair from her face and slid his arm down her back, the other one going behind her knees. She woke up just as he was lifting her from the chair.

Gold eyes snapped open and Aerie jerked in his grip. This startled Marco enough to accidentally drop her back on the chair. She immediately scrambled to her feet and around the back of the chair in order to escape his grasp.

"What are you doing?" She asked wearily.

Marco shrugged. "Taking you to bed," he answered nonchalantly.

Aerie gaped at him as her face reddened a bit. Thankfully, he couldn't see it in the dark. "Why?"

"You're tired. You need to sleep, too."

"Thank you, but I was perfectly fine where I was." She could practically see the disbelief on his face. "Besides, you're the injured one here. You need sleep more than I do."

Instead of pursuing the subject, like she assumed he would, he changed it. "What were you reading?"

"_Crimes of the Century_," she answered after a moment. "I was reading about some of the things that have been stolen around the world. A lot of the items mentioned were either highlighted or circled."

"Probably because we were the ones to steal them."

"That's what I figured. What did you do with the artifacts?"

She heard him shrug. "Sold 'em. Black market, shady dudes."

Aerie was somewhat surprised. "Really? You didn't keep any of them?"

"Why? Then the Marines would know for sure we stole them. We might as well have confessed at the crime scene. Of course," Marco added thoughtfully, "they knew it was us, but they never had the evidence to convict us. Father walked free at any trial he was ever put in. I've always figured that he has a deal of some sort with the Marines, too, to ensure we would not ever be found guilty."

Aerie stared at the glowing coals. It actually made sense. It explained how Lorenzo had accumulated so much money and yet remained almost anonymous in the world. He could probably afford to buy the Marines instead of just paying them to look the other way. So much for being upholders of justice.

She yawned loudly. She knew Marco was smirking at this, and she hated herself for being so tired all of the sudden.

"C'mon," he said, snagging her wrist in his long fingers, "bed."

All feelings of being tired left her mind again as she jerked her hand back. "No! We are not sleeping together!"

It took Aerie about two seconds to realize what she had just said. She moaned in embarrassment and slumped to her hands and knees. _I can't believe I said that, and so loudly too! I really hope no one is awake to have heard that!_

Marco sighed. He wasn't sure whether to be amused or annoyed by her antics. Although he did enjoy sometimes seeing her get flustered, he was extremely exhausted right now and wanted nothing more to sleep.

"Would it help if I promised to stay on one side of the bed?" He asked after a moment.

Aerie silently weighed her options. "I suppose it wouldn't be too bad..." she muttered, mostly to herself. She pushed herself back on to her feet and fixed a glare in the direction she heard his voice originate from. "But you better keep your hands to yourself!"

"Fine," Marco agreed in exasperation. "For goodness's sake, woman, just go to bed."

Satisfied with his answer, she made her way through the dark room to the enormous four-poster bed on the opposite wall. She lay down on it, as close to the edge as she dared. She felt the mattress shift as her commander got comfortable on the other side.

"G'night," she said quietly. Marco hummed in response, already half-asleep.

Lying on the soft bed, the day's events all caught up to Aerie, making her realize how tired she really was. Within seconds, she too was asleep.

~...~

Meanwhile, off the beach on the other side of the island, a certain pirate crew had just finished their plan to rob the Von Trapp mansion. Despite Eliza's warnings, Thatch devised a plot that would put even the most skilled thief to shame. Pops even approved of it too, laughingly telling the "crazy kid do whatever he wants".

Sometimes, Eliza seriously questioned her family's sanity.

However, the most infuriating part of the Fourth Division commander's ingenious plan was how he intended to involve the redheaded nurse.

"You want me to do what?" She practically screamed at him.

Thatch was unperturbed by her outburst. In fact, he seemed almost amused by it. "Now, now, Eliza, don't act like that. It's really not a bad deal, if I may say so myself."

"Only because you made it up," Izo muttered off to the side as he cleaned his pistols.

Thatch ignored him. "Besides," he continued, "it'll only be for a couple of days. After we loot the place, we can forget all about it."

Eliza groaned and slumped her head forward into her hands. She didn't like this whole scheme at all. "Fine," she sighed in defeat.

The pompadoured man snickered in victory. "Excellent." From out of nowhere, he produced an elegant charcoal gray dress, a black hat with a long feather, and some black heeled boots. "Now, if you'll be a dear and put these on..."

"What?! It's the middle of the night! You can't be possibly plannin' on leavin' now!"

"Well, no... I just wanna make sure you look good in this color. That's all."

Eliza glared at him. "Right, and I'm the bloody King of the Pirates."

"Oh, come on, no need to be mean. Besides, the earlier we start the better. We'll need all the time we can get for the plan to work. Which it will," he added, seeing the apprehension on her face.

After a moment, the nurse snatched the dress from his grasp. Groaning to herself at the expensive, silk fabric, she moaned, "I have a really bad feelin' about this."

Something seemed to occur to the white-suited man at that moment. "Oh, before I forget, can you fake another accent? We want to be convincing enough to fool these guys."

Eliza thought about it. "I'll see what I can do," she said eventually.

Thatch grinned. "Great. Meet me outside in, like, ten minutes. We'll start from there." He and Izo left the room, probably to get ready for their own parts in the act.

As she changed, Eliza felt a horrible sense of foreboding come over her. "I hope you know what you're doin', Thatch," she muttered to herself.

~...~

"Miss Aerie... Miss Aerie, wake up..."

Aerie rolled over in her sleep and hummed.

"Miss Aerie, please? It's almost noon."

_Noon? I slept that long?_ With a small groan, her eyelids fluttered open. She was met with the sight of a beaming Alphonse.

"Hey, you're awake!" He said cheerfully.

"Is it really noon?" She asked tiredly.

"Yeah. I was getting bored watching you sleep, so I decided to wake you up!"

"I see." She rolled her head over and noticed Marco's side of the bed empty. The sheets were cold, too, meaning he had been gone for a while. "Where's Marco?"

"Dunno." The boy shrugged. "He came down for breakfast, bandaged and bruised. Father asked how he slept, and all he did was take a bagel, ask me to keep an eye on you, and leave." He chuckled. "Miss Withers nearly had a conniption when he wouldn't talk to anyone but me. Damien left, too, shortly after. Haven't seen either of them since."

Aerie took a moment to think about it. She couldn't help but wonder where her commander and his perverted brother had gone.

"Anyway," Alphonse continued, still with a bright smile, "c'mon it's time to get up! I've got something I wanna show you!"

Aerie shook her head and let out a small laugh. "Alright, you win, I'm coming."

She pushed back the covers and sat up on the bed. Alphonse took one look at her choice in attire before his face turned bright red and he quickly spun around.

"I'll...uh," he stammered, "I'll just wait outside." He rushed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Aerie stared at the closed door. _How on Earth is he related to Marco and Damien?_ She wondered. Where Damien would have thoroughly enjoyed her outfit and Marco would have been indifferent, the boy became flustered at her clothing, or lack thereof.

She slid off the bed onto the cold wooden floor. She shed the garments she had worn the night before and found a white peasant's blouse in a drawer, along with some black pants. She pulled these clothes on, adding her pair of boots to the mix. Glancing in the mirror, she noted the sorry state of her hair and face. She yanked the still-curly hair into a ponytail and used a towel to wipe off the remnants of the makeup she had been forced to wear.

Finally deciding herself to be halfway presentable, Aerie opened the door to join Alphonse in the hall. He glanced at her apparel, looking more comfortable now that she was in actual clothes.

"Where are we going?"

He grinned, an action that lit up his young face. "You'll see," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her down the hall to the secret passage. He took her in a different direction this time, leading her up a set of narrow stairs rather than down. They climbed in companionable silence.

After about ten minutes of leading her further and further upward, Alphonse stopped in front of a door. He pushed it open, allowing bright sunlight to stream into the passage.

Aerie raised a hand to shield her eyes as they adjusted to the light. When she opened them, she realized they were on a balcony overlooking the front of the estate. Her jaw dropped slightly at the view they had over the jungle. She could see over the canopy of trees, except for the taller ones. Far off in the distance, she could even see the glittering blue ocean.

"Wow..." She breathed, at a total loss for words.

Alphonse chuckled. "C'mon, we're not there yet." He gently tugged on her arm and led her up another set of stairs going up the side of the roof. At the top was a landing that wrapped around the backside of the peak they were at. Down this landing he guided her until they were behind the peak and on the flattest part of the roof.

He gestured with his hand at the object before them, releasing her arm in the process. "This is what I wanted to show you."

In front of them was a large, glass dome, possibly seventy feet in diameter. The glass panels were held in place by iron framework, elegantly crisscrossing the structure. Inside of the dome was what looked to be like forestry, with different shades of green and a multitude of colors sprouting from within.

"A greenhouse?" Aerie asked, turning to the younger boy.

He nodded excitedly. "Yeah, it's the only one like it! Wait 'til you see what's in it, though!" He once again gripped her arm and took her to the door leading inside.

Alphonse unlocked the door, also made of glass and iron, and passed through it. He didn't bother locking it behind them.

The plants were large from the outside, but being inside the greenhouse with them, Aerie could see they were enormous. Some of the trees and ferns nearly reached the ceiling of the dome!

"Don't touch that one," Alphonse warned, pointing at a decent-sized vine growing up the side of a tree. "It secretes acid that can burn through your skin."

Aerie nodded, storing the information away for later use. As they walked through the humid glass building, she noticed the acidic vine growing over a majority of the plants and across the ground.

"How come it hasn't burned through the rest of the foliage?" She asked.

"Dunno. Father hasn't let me experiment with it, he only uses it for a guard system. Technically, I'm not supposed to be up here."

She looked at him in surprise. "Why not?"

"Well," he ducked under a tendril of the acidic vine, "for one, that vine grows all over this place. It's 'too dangerous'," he hooked the first two fingers of each hand and shook them, "for me to be in here, seeing as I don't have a Devil Fruit that can regenerate my body if I get hurt. For two, Father keeps something in here he doesn't know I know is here. He doesn't want anyone, even the almighty Damien, coming up here."

"How'd you get a key?"

Alphonse tossed a mischievous smirk over his shoulder. "How else? I stole one from Miss Withers. Old bat has keys to everywhere in this place."

Aerie glanced around them. With a small start, she realized the plants behind them were actually leaning towards them as they walked away. In fact, some of the non-acidic vines were even following after them.

"Um, Alphonse?"

"Yeah?" He glanced over his shoulder over at her. "What's wrong, Miss Aerie?"

"Are the plants...following us?"

"Hmm?" He stopped and turned fully around at the creeping plants. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. It's normal." He turned back around and walked forward on the path through the foliage.

_Normal?!_ Aerie mentally screamed, looking around at the vines and ferns. _How is this considered normal?_

Finally, Alphonse stopped. If Aerie could guess, she would say that they were in the center of the greenhouse. In front of them was a stone dais, supporting a large, metal box. Just like she had predicted, the acidic vines were growing all around the metal box.

"This is what I wanted to show you." Alphonse nodded at the box. "Inside that safe is the thing that Father is hiding."

"What is it?" Aerie asked.

Alphonse shrugged. "No idea. I think it's something he stole back in the day and decided to keep for himself."

The pirate hummed and examined the safe. There wasn't a combination lock, just a small keyhole in the center of the side facing the duo.

Aerie pointed at the keyhole. Before she could ask her question, he shook his head.

"Won't fit. Neither will any of the other keys that the witch has."

That must mean Lorenzo has it somewhere else. Still, I shouldn't even worry about it right now. "Why are you showing me this?"

Alphonse suddenly seemed very uncomfortable. He shifted from foot to foot and avoided eye contact with her. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see..."

"What?"

"I...well... I was in one of the secret passages last night, and I happened to be in one of the walls to your room." He glanced at her to gage her reaction thus far. When receiving her curious look, he continued. "I heard you arguing with Marco in the bathroom. Then you must've come back into your room because I could hear the drawers of the wardrobe opening. Marco came back in after a few minutes and he asked about your books. You said something about wanting to find Father's weakness, so..." He trailed off.

Aerie nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. How do you even know whatever is inside is important?"

Alphonse made a wide sweeping gesture to the plants around them. "Why else would he surround it with acidic plants?"

"Touché."

Alphonse pulled back his sleeve to check his watch for the time. "Aw, is that the time?" He asked dejectedly. He looked at Aerie apologetically. "Sorry, but I need to get you out of here. Withers'll crap a chicken if I'm not downstairs in ten minutes."

Aerie told him it wasn't a problem. She took one last look at the metal safe before following him out of the greenhouse.

~...~

Marco really couldn't stand his family sometimes. Both of them. But, really, who doesn't reach that point somewhere in his life?

"Ah, how lovely the jungle is this morning, isn't sir?" Greeves, Damien's manservant, asked as they traipsed through the thick brush.

Damien hummed in agreement. "It certainly is, Greeves. Of course, this is no compare to the beautiful Miss Aerie."

Marco couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes. All his older brother had been talking about this morning was about Aerie. His favorite topic was how "beautiful" the woman was and how he intended to persuade her to stay at the manor.

"Too bad she hates you, yoi," he said in a bored tone.

Damien whipped his head around to glare at his younger brother. "That can change."

"Don't bet on it."

"Marco, what would you know about the affairs of the heart?"

"I know she hates you."

Damien actually looked hurt. "How rude. But, never fear, brother, I shall win her heart with time."

"Have fun with that, yoi."

"Well, she seems to have a fondness for you," he said, giving the bandages crisscrossing Marco's torso a pointed look.

"That's what family does. We look out for each other."

The older man stopped and gazed at Marco with an unreadable look on his face. "Indeed," he murmured before continuing his trek through the jungle.

Marco frowned at his brother's back. He didn't exactly approve of his brother's fascination for his crew mate.

"Where are we even going, yoi?" He asked some time later.

Damien turned over his shoulder and smirked. "You'll see soon enough, dear brother."

~...~

Eliza was liking Thatch's plan less and less the further it progressed. The gray silk dress was uncomfortably hot in the humid jungle, and her hair was beginning to frizz in it's pinned position on the top of her head.

"Thatch, do you even know where this mansion is?" Izo asked irritably from behind her.

Thatch stopped and rubbed his goatee. "No idea," he finally admitted with a laugh. Izo released a heavy sigh while a tick mark appeared on Eliza's forehead.

"You're tellin' me we've been parading through this jungle for four hours and you have no idea where we're even goin'?" The redhead snapped.

"Yeah, pretty much." The man laughed again.

The three walked on in silence. Thatch was still emitting an air of confidence and happiness, while Eliza and Izo were contemplating knocking him out and dragging his sorry butt back to the ship.

Finally, they reached a clearing in the trees. It revealed a wide field, surrounded by an iron fence and limestone pillars. The three pirates faced the backside of an enormous mansion, also made out of limestone. Inside the fence, guards patrolled back and forth across the lawn.

Thatch tossed a victorious smirk at his companions. "Found it," he sang.

Eliza rolled her eyes but didn't reply. Izo gave his brother a disproving look before leading the way to the front gate.

As the three approached the gate, a voice called out from behind them, "Hold it! Where do you think you're going?"

They turned around, to come face-to-face with several gun barrels. The men holding them were completely dressed in black, and their heads were covered in shiny plastic helmets.

Thatch put his hands up in the universal sign for surrender, motioning the others to follow suit. He put on his most charming smile. "Come now, gentlemen, there's no need for that."

"State your name and your business." One of the men, presumably the leader, ordered harshly.

"I," Thatch lifted the high silk hat off his head and bowed dramatically at the waist, "am Count Reginald Howell the Fifth. This is my wife, Countess Scarlett Howell, and my manservant, Nancy. We wish to speak to Master Von Trapp. We have a business proposition for the chap."

Eliza almost winced at Thatch's horrible accent, but managed to keep the false fear on her face. Izo, however, scowled at the name Thatch made up for him.

"Do you?" The helmeted man asked suspiciously. "Do you have an appointment with the master?"

Thatch grinned sheepishly. "Well, my good fellow, no. No we don't. We were hoping he would simply hear us out if he was unavailable."

The man was about to reply again when someone from behind asked: "What's going on here, Captain?" They each turned to see three men approaching from the jungle.

"Master Damien, I did not realize you were away!" The captain hurriedly pointed his gun at the ground. He gestured to the three visitors. "They wish to see Master Lorenzo."

"They do?" The one named Damien asked quietly. He looked at each of the pirates carefully. One man had long black hair pulled into a ponytail at the based of his head, and wore a black tuxedo. The other man had auburn hair, also in a ponytail, but wore a business suit, a monocle, and a high silk hat. The third, a beautiful redheaded woman, was in a charcoal colored dress and a black hat, which sat at an angle on her head.

At once, he was all charm. "My friends, welcome! My name is Damien Von Trapp. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He shook both of the men's hands and kissed the knuckles of the woman.

"The pleasure is all ours, I assure you!" Thatch pulled the blond into a friendly hug. "I am Count Reginald Howell the Fifth. This is my wife, Scarlett, and my manservant, Nancy."

Damien extracted himself from the embrace and smiled. "Please, follow me. This heat is dreadful, and it is much more pleasant inside." He offered his arm to Eliza, who accepted it with a demure smile. He unlocked the gate and began walking toward the house.

"Lead the way, D-Man!" Thatch let out a hearty laugh and walked beside him. Izo followed at a respectable distance. The blond's two companions walked behind him. Once through the gate, the guards locked it and presumed their patrols.

Thatch turned his head over his shoulder to look at the other blond man. "I say, dear fellow, what happened to you?" He gazed pointedly at the bandages covering his torso.

Damien looked at his younger brother, silently telling him to keep quiet. "My poor brother was mauled by a bear, I'm afraid. We barely managed to find him in time."

"Poor man," Eliza murmured, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Oh, don't worry, madame. He's a fighter. Aren't you, Marco?"

Marco gave a noncommittal shrug, but didn't reply.

Damien gave a strained smiled. "Please forgive him, he doesn't have the best manners."

"Perfectly understandable, old chap." Thatch grinned at the older man. "Some people just don't have as much class as fellows such as you and I. Am I right, Nancy?"

Izo snorted at the statement, but covered it with a cough. "Of course, sir. You are the classiest of them all."

~...~

Alphonse and Aerie quickly ran down through the passages to the ballroom. Just as the young man had predicted, Miss Withers was not happy to see them.

"Master Alphonse, you are late," she sniffed. "Where have you been?"

"Around," he answered cryptically. "What's it to you?"

"I don't appreciate that tone of voice, young master." The nurse narrowed her already beady eyes.

Alphonse casually poured himself a glass of sherry from a crystal pitcher. He took a sip before answering. "Too bad. You're not my mother."

Withers looked like she was about to erupt. However, she was saved by one of the butlers walking in.

"Ah, Master Alphonse," he greeted pleasantly. "Are you ready for your dance lesson?"

Dancing? Aerie wondered. That's what we were almost late for?

Alphonse shrugged and handed the glass over to Miss Withers, who accepted it with a scowl. "Sure thing, George. Let's get this over with."

The butler, George, walked over to the piano on one side of the room. He pushed off the cover and sat at the bench.

"Are you ready, sir?" He asked.

Alphonse shrugged again. Miss Withers set the glass of sherry down and stood facing the young blond. As soon as George began playing, the unusual couple began waltzing across the floor.

Aerie couldn't help but gawk at the pair. Miss Withers was constantly barking out instructions to the poor kid, who would snap out a sharp retort. George winced at their constant bickering, and he abruptly stopped playing.

"Ah, Miss Withers," the butler said tentatively. "Perhaps Master Alphonse would perform better if he had a different dancing partner."

The hag scowled at him. "And who would you suggest that be, George? The rest of the female staff despises the little monster."

George cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, I'm aware of that, Miss Withers, but Miss Aerie here doesn't seem to mind him. Maybe she could try...?" He shot a pleading glance in her direction.

Aerie got the hint. "Sure, I don't mind dancing."

Miss Withers moved away from Alphonse and Aerie took her place. She took one of his hands in her own and put the other on his shoulder. He put his other hand on her waist. George started playing the piano again and they moved across the floor.

"Where did you learn to dance, Miss Aerie?" Alphonse asked.

She shrugged. "My dad taught me. I had to go to a lot of formal events with him when I was younger."

He nodded, going quiet. The song came to a close and the pair stopped dancing.

Immediately, the sound of clapping echoed through the large room.

"Miss Aerie, that was simply wonderful!" Damien said, strolling into the room. Marco rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe.

"Thanks," she replied politely. She made eye contact with Marco before glancing at the bandages around his chest. Her eyes were then drawn to the other three people who entered the room behind Damien, and she had to resist the urge to facepalm.

"Well now, Damien, old chap, who is this young lady?" Thatch asked, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"A friend of Marco's," the blond answered smoothly. "She's visiting for the weekend."

"She's a pirate!" Alphonse added excitedly. "Aren't you, Miss Aerie?"

Damien sighed and shot a glare at his youngest brother. Aerie nodded, and said, "Yep."

Eliza wrinkled her nose, as if she were disgusted. "Oh, darling, get away from her. You don't know where she's been."

Thatch laughed and put an arm around Aerie's shoulders. "Nonsense, my sweet! Any friend of the Von Trapps is a friend of ours!" He hugged her close to his torso.

"If you say so," Eliza muttered uncertainly.

Aerie couldn't believe this was happening. It was bad enough she and Marco had been taken prisoner here, now these three walked in willingly?

"Miss Aerie, Alphonse, this is Count Reginald Howell the Fifth, his wife Scarlett, and their manservant, Nancy." Damien introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," she said, extracting herself from Thatch's embrace.

Alphonse stuck a finger up his nose. "What kinda name is Nancy?"

Izo sighed irately. "I'll tell you once I know, young master." He shot a pointed glare at Thatch, who ignored it.

The auburn-haired man adjusted his monocle. "Now then, D-Man, where is your old man at? I really must discuss business with him."

Damien smiled charmingly. "I shall notify him of your presence. Please wait here." He turned and left the room, Miss Withers and George following behind him.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Marco snapped, "What the hell do you think you guys are doing, yoi?!"

"We could ask you two the same thing," Izo said, crossing his arms. "Where have you guys been the past three days?"

"And since when have you had two brothers?" Thatch asked, pointing at the young Von Trapp boy.

Alphonse frowned and looked at his older brother. "Wait...you know these guys?"

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. "Doesn't matter. Why are you here?"

Thatch smirked and put his hands on his hips. "We're gonna rob 'em blind!" He declared.

The room was silent. Finally, Aerie said, "Please tell me you're joking."

"Of course I'm not! Why would I?"

"Because you don't want to do that," Marco said impatiently. "Trust me, Thatch, this family is not people you can just mess with."

"Why not?" Asked Eliza.

Marco sighed. "Look, my father-"

"FATHER?!" The three supposed-thieves shouted.

"Yes, father. He isn't afraid of anything. He will do whatever it takes to get even; whatever it takes to settle a score." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'd hate to see you idiots get hurt over something as stupid as trying to steal from him."

"You're one to talk," Izo snorted, looking pointedly at the bandages. "What happened to you?"

"Long story, yoi."

"That's not an answer," Thatch said, crossing his arms.

"It doesn't matter what happened, what matters is we get out of here." Upon seeing their unsatisfied faces, he sighed again. "Does Pops know you're here?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't know you're here." Eliza pointed out. "Why haven't you contacted us?"

"He was catching up with dear old dad," Alphonse answered. "Besides, the only long-distance den-den in the house is in father's office."

"We have one, in case anyone tries to contact us," Izo said.

"Good," Marco replied. "You should hold on to it. Don't let anyone, especially Withers or Damien, take it."

"Take what, dearest brother?" Damien asked, reentering the ballroom.

"Take you out to dinner, Aerie," Marco ad-libbed. "He'll probably drag you off to some dive and expect you to pay the bill."

"Come now, don't be rude to the D-Man!" Thatch cried. "I'm sure Miss Aerie would have a wonderful evening with the dude!" He nodded conspiratorially at Damien. "I got your back, bro," he stage whispered.

"Thank you," Damien muttered. He smiled pleasantly. "Father can see you now."

* * *

**HOLY GUACAMOLE GUYS, DID YOU KNOW THIS STORY HAS REACHED OVER 12,000 VIEWS?! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!**

**Haaaaa...okay now that that's over, I'm so sorry for the late update and the poor quality of the chapter. I'm not really satisfied with this one, at all. **

**On a more positive note, I was really pleased with the results of my question that I asked last time. If you haven't noticed, I changed the story summary, but not the genre, as romance will not be the main focus of this fic, just a little something extra for you awesome dudes. :)**

**Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review!**

**From the U.S. With Love,**

**Batman**

***Update: Sorry, it's been so long, I forgot I already used the name Silas in this arc. Thatch's new fake name is Reginald.**


	21. Chapter 20: This is Gospel

**Thanks for all of these reviews guys! We are officially over 15,000 views!**

**Savage Kill: Ehh..I'm sure they always do. :) It won't be long now until they have to hatch a master escape plan...hehehehe. Thanks for reviewing, as always!**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Thanks! I'm glad to be back! School and work have kept me extremely busy, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. Yes, Harmless Fun is actually one of my all-time favorite fics! Thanks for reviewing!**

**tuskkins: Thanks!**

**RainbowGuardian13: Glad I can make you laugh! His name was inspired by this skinny white guy I saw wrestling the the day at our state tournament XD. And yes, I am planning on that, just not quite yet :). Thanks for reviewing!**

**Guest: Fozzie Bear: I don't even know why she would agree to it... I certainly wouldn't! Thanks for reviewing!**

**alexc123: Aw ^.^ thanks so much! It really make my day to hear people enjoying my story!**

**CallmeEevee: Hey! I'm glad you guessed it right! Am I that predictable? Haha! Hmm... I guess I was a bit obvious when you point it out like that. I'm glad you found it entertaining! Good news is, I've mostly gotten over my writer's block, and should update soon! Thanks for reviewing!**

**IDon'tFreakingKnowYou: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! ME EITHER! (Haha still working on it *-*)**

**Akabane Karma: I know, Thatch can be a complete moron. Yes, they are cute, aren't they? ^.^ I'm so excited for when they get together! But that won't be for a while, haha. If you want a visual for Alphonse, just imagine a younger Marco with bigger eyes, a scrawnier physique, and longer hair. Adorable! Oh my goodness, I will never get that image out of my head for as long as I live! Don't worry, I love uber long reviews! It makes me feel like people are actually paying attention to the story! Thanks so much!**

**WARNING: This chapter contains the usual stuff... Y'know, language, slightly mature stuff... Yeah...**

* * *

Chapter 20: This is Gospel

George led Thatch out of the ballroom, presumably to Lorenzo's office, leaving Damien and Miss Withers with the group remaining there. The room was suddenly seized with silence. Each member glanced at one another, willing someone to say something.

Damien finally cleared his throat. He turned to Miss Withers, saying, "Miss Withers, would you mind please fetching us some refreshments? My brother, Miss Scarlett, and I were traipsing around in the heat for quite some time. And I'm sure Miss Aerie is tired from all that lovely dancing she did." Nodding stiffly, Miss Withers, too, left the room.

Eliza cleared her throat and tilted her head to gaze at Marco. "You said you were mauled by a bear?" Marco cocked an eyebrow and snorted. "Would you like me to examine your wounds? I'm a nurse."

"Don't worry about him," Damien cut in before his younger brother could answer. "Miss Aerie here already took care of it."

"I really wouldn't trust my judgement on it," Aerie muttered.

The older blond flashed her a glowing smile. "Nonsense. I'm sure you did a wonderful job saving my brother." Marco rolled his eyes and mimed shooting himself in the head, earning him a giggle from Alphonse. As if sensing the attitude, Damien sharply turned his head over his shoulder, and Marco was quick to fix his expression into its usual boredom.

An idea came to Damien then. "Marco, don't be so sullen. Why don't you entertain our guests?"

The younger man crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. "Fine, but I'm not jumping out of cakes or doing any strip teases, yoi. I'll leave those to you."

Damien's smile became somewhat strained. "I meant the piano, brother. You used to play so beautifully."

Aerie shot Eliza a confused look, but the redhead only shrugged, as if to say, _I didn't know, either._

Marco scoffed softly, but tilted his head. "I haven't played in years. I'll probably sound like shit."

"Oh come on, just one song? I'm sure our guests will enjoy it very much."

Marco frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he muttered eventually. He crossed the cavernous room and sat at the grand piano. He poised his fingers over the white keys and paused. Moving slowly, he struck out a simple, eight note scale. He muttered something under his breath and nodded to himself. He then turned back to his older brother. "What do you want me to play?"

Damien considered it. "What about that one that Mother used to love?"

A smirk appeared on Marco's face as he began playing: _"I hate this town, it's so washed up, and all my friends don't give a f-"_

"Marco!" The older man snapped cutting off the song. He exhaled deeply before giving another strained smile. "You know that was not the one I was referring to. I meant the one Father used to play for Mother all the time."

"Fine, yoi." Marco took a deep breath and put his fingers over the keys again. He hit the beginning note of the song. Damien relaxed and nodded, approving of the melody. Finally, softly, Marco began singing:

_This is gospel for the fallen ones_

_Locked away in permanent slumber_

_Assembling their philosophies_

_From pieces of broken memories_

Aerie's eyes widened. His voice was deep and smooth, nothing like she would expect it to be. A glance to Eliza told her the redhead thought the same.

_Their gnashing teeth and criminal tongues conspire against the odds_

_But they haven't seen the best of us yet_

_If you love me let me go_

_If you love me let me go_

_'Cause these words are knives and often leave scars_

_The fear of falling apart_

_And truth be told, I never was yours_

_The fear, the fear of falling apart_

He glanced up at the others and their awestruck expressions and smirked. He continued singing:

_This is gospel for the vagabonds,_

_Ne'er-do-wells and insufferable bastards_

_Confessing their apostasies_

_Led away by imperfect impostors_

_Don't try to sleep through the end of the world_

_And bury me alive_

_'Cause I won't give up without a fight_

Marco was reaching the climax of the song, and his voice gradually gained volume and strength. He wasn't focusing on the others anymore, as he seemed completely consumed in his music.

_If you love me let me go_

_If you love me let me go_

_'Cause these words are knives and often leave scars_

_The fear of falling apart_

_And truth be told, I never was yours_

_The fear, the fear of falling apart_

_Oh, the fear of falling apart_

_Oh, the fear, the fear of falling apart_

As he reached the last notes of the song, his face relaxed, and he bowed his head and closed his eyes. A smattering of applause from the room's other occupants made him adopt a smooth smirk and face them. He got to his feet and calmly approached the group.

"Brother, you have not lost your touch," Damien said, a smug look on his face.

"I never knew he had it," Aerie added, shooting him a glance.

Marco shrugged. "I never needed to use it. I'm a pirate, not a musician."

A booming clap from the doorway drew everyone's attention. They each turned to see Thatch standing, a jovial grin on his face as he applauded. "Good show, my good man! You sir, have a gift!" He walked over and put an arm around the blond's shoulders. "Hey, you know, I could always use a voice like that. What say you come work for me?"

As he went to reply, another voice cut him off. "That was not part of our agreement, Count." Lorenzo stepped out of the hall and into the ballroom.

Thatch frowned, hiding his irritation. "Come now, dear man. I was only jesting." He muttered, taking his arm back.

Lorenzo scrutinized the auburn-haired man with an unreadable gaze. Thatch began to twitch, not being one to stand still, even under duress. Finally, he muttered, "I see." He tilted his head. "But I do not think you understand yet."

"Eh? Understand what?" Aerie had a horrible sense of foreboding when Lorenzo's gaze fell on her.

"Count, while you are in my house, you must respect my absolute authority. I have already told you Marco is not leaving this house." Marco's smirk disappeared and was replace by a scowl. He glared at his fellow crew member. "Trying to do otherwise is an act of treason against me."

Thatch's frown deepened. "Again, merely joking. I would never dare act against our contract."

"Nevertheless, I feel I should show you what happens to those who betray me. Damien," the blond straightened, "perhaps you should demonstrate with Miss Aerie."

Damien seemed to understand what his father wanted him to do. He moved to stand directly behind her and wrap his hands around her upper arms. Suddenly, Aerie remembered the older Von Trapp was able to knock Marco unconscious by only touching him.

Marco seemed to realize it, too. "Damien, don't even-"

Too late. Aerie felt a burning pain going through her entire body. She opened her mouth, but nothing escaped from it. She couldn't even breathe. White spots danced on the edge of her vision, but she didn't black out. Mercifully, the pain stopped, and she gasped for air. Her body slipped from Damien's grasp, but was caught before she hit the ground.

Aerie felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her torso. Dimly, she could hear the person growling out something as he held her. She couldn't understand what they were saying, nor did she care. Sparks of pain still shot through her body. With a groan, she leaned more heavily on the person holding her. Her feet left the floor and she suddenly felt weightless. She was vaguely aware of the sensation of being carried away.

~...~

"You shouldn't have done that, yoi," Marco growled, supporting Aerie from falling over. Damien hummed and shrugged.

Thatch turned back to Lorenzo. "Alright, dear man, I understand your desire to express your authority, but was that really necessary?"

"Absolutely." Thatch looked taken aback.. "You must know what happens to those who betray me." Lorenzo's gaze fell on Eliza next. "And their friends."

"This didn't involve her," Marco responded. "This is between me and you. It's always been me and you."

Lorenzo's gaze narrowed. "Do not question me, Marco. In this house, I am the master."

Aerie groaned, leaning further against Marco. He picked her up bridal style, one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. He sent one last scowl at his father and older brother before leaving the ballroom. Alphonse made to follow him, but was stopped by a warning glance from his father.

~...~

Marco carried Aerie all the way back to her room on the third floor. He kicked the door open and walked to the enormous bed and gently set her down on the mattress. Using his long, tan fingers, he pushed the hair out of her face and to the side of her head.

"Why do you always have to get into trouble?" He mused. "I swear, my life has become so much more stressful since you've been around." She didn't respond, eyes closed, breaths deep and even. He sighed. "I'm sorry. None of you were meant to get involved with my family."

He moved away to the bed and walked to the window. Things had changed now: Damien had harmed Aerie. He had sworn that as long as she remained safe, he would not do anything against his father. Now, he no longer had any inclination to keep his promise. A slow grin came to his face as a plan came to mind.

He didn't know how long he stood staring out the window, but he was brought from his thoughts by a groaning from the bed. When he turned around, he saw Aerie was pushing herself up with one hand and holding her head with the other. Marco went to the bedside to gently push her back down.

Aerie blinked at him through groggy golden eyes. "Mmmarco? Whaddya doin'?"

"Rest, yoi," he ordered, silently hoping she would listen for once. To his relief, she did, settling back with a yawn.

"What happened?" She asked tiredly.

"Damien used his Devil Fruit powers on you to prove a point to Thatch. I told that idiot not to push him, but as usual, he didn't listen."

"Oh." The words seemed to flow past Aerie. She frowned a little. "That wasn't very nice of him. 'Course, he wasn't real nice to begin with." She closed her eyes and yawned again. "Bastard, tryin' to kiss me..."

Marco choked on the air as his eyes nearly burst out of his skull. "He did what?!"

"Kill me...big fat jerk..." Aerie's eyes drifted close and she let out a light snore.

"Hold on just a minute, yoi!" Marco moved to shake her back awake, but sighed, realizing it was pointless. It was better to just let her sleep and allow the time for her body to recover from the trauma. He stood up and went to the window again.

~...~

Later that evening, after dinner Marco assumed, he heard a strange thumping noise from within the walls of the room, before suddenly stopping. A moment passed and then the fireplace spun around an axis, revealing a hidden stairwell. Down the stairs came Alphonse, followed by Thatch, Eliza, and Izo.

Thatch took off his top hat and threw it like a disc across the room. He crossed his arms and scowled at Marco. "I blame you."

"What, yoi?" A vein appeared on the blond's forehead. "How is this possibly my fault? You're the one with the moronic plan to rob the place."

"Yeah, but if you had told me it was your old man's place, I might have thought it through a bit more."

Marco sighed and closed his eyes. "Whatever. I don't want to waste my time arguing about it." He cracked one eye open. "And that man is not my father. Whitebeard is."

Eliza piped up, "What happened to Aerie earlier?"

"Damien's Devil Fruit." He nodded to the bed. "She's over there. I think she's fine, but you could check on her if you want, yoi." The nurse did just that.

Her green gaze pierced through him. "What about you? Was that," a pointed glance to his chest, "Damien's doing, too?"

Marco rubbed at the bandages crisscrossing his torso. "Some of it. Doesn't matter now."

"Doesn't matter my left butt cheek! When was the last time you changed your dressings?"

"Yesterday, when they were put on." Eliza scowled at him. "What?"

He wasn't sure how exactly it happened, but the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back on the floor with Eliza sitting on his stomach, peeling away the fabric on his chest. "What the-?"

"Sit still and shut up." The redhead snapped. "Not having your powers to heal yourself is not an excuse for poor medical practices."

"Get off of me!" She didn't listen. She finished taking off the bandages and examined his chest wounds. Marco decided to stop resisting and just let her do her job.

Eliza hummed in thought as she stared at the commander's bare chest. She nodded to herself and stood up. "Well, Aerie did a pretty good job by herself. Maybe I'll turn her into a nurse. Eh, you would like that, wouldn't you, Marco?"

"If it keeps her out of trouble, I'm all for it." He stood back up. "What's the prognosis?"

"You'll need your powers back to heal quickly, but for now, you're doing fine. I'll go ahead and bandage it again, just in case."

He gestured with his hands to a pile of fabric on the floor. "That's what she used. We don't have bandages."

Alphonse laughed and sat down in one of the winged chairs. "I don't even think we own bandages, brother."

"Probably not." Marco stood still and let Eliza put clean fabric strips on his chest. When she finished, he stretched his arms. "Thanks, yoi."

"Don't thank me, thank Aerie."

"I will."

"What do we do now?" Izo crossed his arms. "I hate to be a Johnny Raincloud here, but if you haven't noticed, we have a serious problem."

"I know, I know." Marco sat on the arm of Alphonse's chair. "I have an idea, but we're going to have to be quick if we want it to work."

"That we can do," Thatch cracked his knuckles. "I've only been here a couple of hours and I already want to leave."

"Me too." Everyone in the room turned to gape at Alphonse. "I'm coming too."

Marco sighed. "Alphonse, listen-"

"No, you listen." The younger blond glared at his older brother. "You're not leaving me alone again, Marco. You don't know what it was like, growing up here by myself. Damien doesn't like anybody but himself, Miss Withers is a monster, and Father... Father hates me, I know it. If I hadn't been born, Mother would have lived."

"Al, you can't blame yourself for that. It's not fair, you were a baby."

"I know, but... I can't stand it anymore. I have to leave, get out, be free like you, brother." Alphonse looked at the carpet. "I guess I understand if you don't want me to-"

"Nonsense!" Thatch cut him off. "Kid, you're coming with us, right, Marco?"

Marco looked his younger brother directly in the eyes. "You know what this means, right? You can't come back once you leave."

"I know."

"So, you're ready to accept the consequences for your actions from now on?"

"Yes."

The older man sighed again. "Well, it's ultimately up to Pops, but if you're sure," Alphonse eagerly nodded, "then welcome aboard our humble ship of fools, younger brother." He ruffled his hair affectionately.

Thatch swooped in and scooped the teenager up in a bear hug, letting out a jovial laugh. Eliza gave him a warm smile and Izo cracked a reluctant grin.

"Wha's happening?" A sleepy voice asked from across the room. Each of the room's occupants turned and saw Aerie standing up and stretching.

"Well, we just gained a new family member." Thatch released the young man but kept his arm around his shoulders.

"Really?" Alphonse grinned excitedly. "That's great! How're we getting out of here?"

"Never one to beat around the bush, are you, lass?" Eliza chuckled.

"I was just getting to that, actually." Marco crossed his arms. "This is what we need to do..."

~...~

Damien walked calmly down the hall to his father's study, where Thatch had been sitting hours earlier. He stopped in front of the heavy wooden doors and knocked, patiently awaiting the invitation to enter. Once he heard it, he let himself in and shut the door behind him.

He approached his father, who was sitting behind an enormous desk, looking at a few pieces of paper in his hand. He took a seat in a heavily cushioned chair and poured himself a glass of brandy. Glancing up, he prompted, "Well?"

"I fear your demonstration did not work, Damien." Lorenzo's blue eyes flicked up to meet his son's. "Our dear friend the Count plans on betraying me after all."

"How rude. Even after we fed him and put up with his annoying antics."

"Indeed." He poured his own glass. He Handed one of the sheets to Damien. "Tell me, does that name sound familiar?"

The younger man arched an eyebrow. "Tanaka... Isn't that a Lieutenant General in the Marines?"

"Vice Admiral, now. He was recently promoted." Lorenzo stood and gazed out the window behind him into the night sky. He chuckled dryly. "I wonder how much he would like to see his daughter again."

Damien shrugged. "Difficult to say. Perhaps not at all."

"Perhaps." He glanced at the papers again. "They must think me a fool."

"I beg your pardon?" Damien's answer came in the form of the other pieces of paper from his father's hand. His eyes widened. "Of course."

"Indeed." Lorenzo took a drink of his brandy. "What did you accomplish today?"

"Nothing much. They must have known we were coming, because they weren't there. Marco refused to burn the place to the ground, though. I would have thought he would have been all for it."

Lorenzo shrugged. "The natives are no longer our primary concern. I want you to go to the beaches and search for a ship. It shouldn't be hard to spot it. Go ahead and create some cover, while you're at it. Perhaps we can drive them out to sea."

Damien recognized a dismissal when he heard one. He stood and finished his brandy, tossed the papers back on the desk, and set aside the glass. As he opened the door, his father stated, "Damien, I want this done with utmost discretion. Nothing flashy like last time. I don't want pirates storming my beaches."

Damien nodded. "Of course, Father." He stepped over the threshold, shutting the door gently behind him.

cLorenzo sat back in his chair and looked at the papers again. A sudden feeling of uneasiness came upon him, but he just as quickly pushed it aside. His gaze was drawn to the paper on the top of the stack, a wanted poster. He immediately spotted the defiant golden eyes in the picture, as small as they were. _This girl... Why do I feel as though she is more trouble than she's worth?_

* * *

**:O I've run out of excuses. But I will apologize for the lack of updates, this crappy chapter, and the length of the chapter. I will not a pologize for Marco being an adorable older brother, though. **

**Eh, what do I say? I hit a major writer's block like two hours after publishing the last chapter, and was stuck for like three weeks. Add that with school and work and BAM! instant disaster. I'm past it now, and I have the story mapped out through Chapter 24 I believe (that's the tentative endpoint for this arc). I can't decided what to do next, but I'm thinking it has to do with Aerie's extended family. Maybe we might see our old buddy Carlyle. I am also seriously reconsidering editing (read: basically rewriting) the first few chapters of this story. (If you guys have been on my profile recently, you may have seen this.) Thoughts?**

**To be honest, the piano thing is like a headcanon of mine. I love boys that can play the piano. It adds a certain air of sophistication, don't you think? Like Beethoven. He's one classy S.O.B.**

**Drop a review, and hit those favorite and follow buttons, while you're at it! Your friend,**

**~The Bat**

**P.S. Here we go again with the things I realilze I should have been doing from the beginning. The song Marco sung is called "This is Gospel" by Panic! At the Disco. You savvy readers may notice that is also the title of the chapter. Good for you. If you've been really observant, you may also notice I borrowed song titles for all of the chapters. If you like, you can look them up!**


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